Amari Saifi
Encyclopedia
Amari Saifi also known under his aliases Abou Haidara or Abderrazak le Para, is one of the leaders of the Islamist militia Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC).
According to Paris Match
, Saifi claims to have been the head of the bodyguard of the Algerian defence minister Khaled Nezzar
from 1990 to 1993. It is believed that he joined the armed Islamist movement in 1992 and later advanced to become the second-in-command of the GSPC, but his name did not appear on the GSPC website until 2004. His nickname "El Para" is derived from "paratrooper", as he is believed to have been a trained parachutist in the Algerian armed forces before integrating in the Islamist network.
Saifi became widely known when he was identified as one of the kidnappers who abducted in 2003 a group of 32 tourists, most of them German, in Algeria. It was then that the Algerian government claimed that the former military agent had switched sides.
After the hostages were released in two groups - one liberated by the Algerian army, the other against ransom - Saifi and 50 of his men allegedly escaped into Mali and were pursued through Niger by combined Algerian and Malian forces into northern Chad.
In March 2004, Saifi was captured by the Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad
(MDJT), a Chadian rebel group. The MDJT leaders tried to have him sent to Germany to stand trial, but finally handed him over to the Algerian secret services in October 2004. In June 2005, the Algerian government announced that he had been sentenced to life imprisonment.
An investigation by Le Monde diplomatique
assured in 2005 that Saifi was not a true islamist but an agent of the Algerian government who staged a false flag
attack by kidnapping the tourists. The British anthropologist Jeremy Keenan
elaborated on this theory since 2006, speculating that the supposed presence of (false) Islamist terrorist elements in southern Algeria would allow the US to broaden their counterterrorist agreements with several Sahel
countries.
According to Paris Match
Paris Match
Paris Match is a French weekly magazine. It covers major national and international news along with celebrity lifestyle features. It was founded in 1949 by the industrialist Jean Prouvost....
, Saifi claims to have been the head of the bodyguard of the Algerian defence minister Khaled Nezzar
Khaled Nezzar
Major-General Khaled Nezzar is an Algerian general and former member of the High Council of State of Algeria. He was born in the douar of Thlet, in Seriana in the Batna region. His father, Rahal Nezzar, was a former non-commissioned officer in the French army who had turned to farming after...
from 1990 to 1993. It is believed that he joined the armed Islamist movement in 1992 and later advanced to become the second-in-command of the GSPC, but his name did not appear on the GSPC website until 2004. His nickname "El Para" is derived from "paratrooper", as he is believed to have been a trained parachutist in the Algerian armed forces before integrating in the Islamist network.
Saifi became widely known when he was identified as one of the kidnappers who abducted in 2003 a group of 32 tourists, most of them German, in Algeria. It was then that the Algerian government claimed that the former military agent had switched sides.
After the hostages were released in two groups - one liberated by the Algerian army, the other against ransom - Saifi and 50 of his men allegedly escaped into Mali and were pursued through Niger by combined Algerian and Malian forces into northern Chad.
In March 2004, Saifi was captured by the Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad
Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad
Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad is a Chadian rebel group that tried to oust the government of the current Chadian president Idriss Déby from October 1998-2003...
(MDJT), a Chadian rebel group. The MDJT leaders tried to have him sent to Germany to stand trial, but finally handed him over to the Algerian secret services in October 2004. In June 2005, the Algerian government announced that he had been sentenced to life imprisonment.
An investigation by Le Monde diplomatique
Le Monde diplomatique
Le Monde diplomatique is a monthly newspaper offering analysis and opinion on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first created mainly for a diplomatic audience as its name implies...
assured in 2005 that Saifi was not a true islamist but an agent of the Algerian government who staged a false flag
False flag
False flag operations are covert operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is flying the flag of a country other than one's own...
attack by kidnapping the tourists. The British anthropologist Jeremy Keenan
Jeremy Keenan
Jeremy Keenan is a Research Associate at the Department of Anthropology and Sociology of London's School of Oriental and African Studies. He is considered an expert on Algeria.-References:...
elaborated on this theory since 2006, speculating that the supposed presence of (false) Islamist terrorist elements in southern Algeria would allow the US to broaden their counterterrorist agreements with several Sahel
Sahel
The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition between the Sahara desert in the North and the Sudanian Savannas in the south.It stretches across the North African continent between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea....
countries.