The protection of civilians in Mali must be a priority – no further financial support for Islamists!

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) demands that the protection of the civilian population must have absolute priority in case of military interventions in northern Mali. "A drone war in the Sahara would bear a high risk of nomads, travelers and traders – who usually move outside the cities in smaller groups – being killed unintentionally," said the STP's expert on questions regarding Africa, Ulrich Delius, in Göttingen on Tuesday. In the last few months, Tuareg civilians were repeatedly attacked by helicopters and got killed because they were mistaken for rebels. 

An imminent military intervention by ECOWAS in northern Mali will be discussed by the International Community on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday. The intervention is directed against the terrorist movement "Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb" (AQMI) and their radical Islamist allies – who currently control two thirds of the national territory of Mali.

The STP also urges the states of the European Union (EU) not to pay any more ransom money in cases of kidnapping or hostage-taking by the AQMI and their allies. "The ransom money extorted from Europe is crucial for the Islamists to recruit new fighters and to distribute money and material gifts among the people," said Delius. Thus, only 400 AQMI activists managed to recruit about 5,000 local allies who do not necessarily share their ideology, but are trying to benefit financially.

Currently, the AQMI demands 100 million Euro in ransom money for the release of four kidnapped Frenchmen. The AQMI's allies of the "Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa" (MUJAO) are supposed to have received 15 million Euro for the release of three hostages from Spain and Italy in July of 2012. Since 2002, Germany and Austria are supposed to have paid multi-million amounts to set hostages free.

The AQMI also profits from drug smuggling to Europe, in which the authorities in Mali and the neighboring countries are involved. "The AQMI's influence will only decrease significantly if the financing of the terror network is suppressed," said Delius.