From: Magharebia
Yasmin Najjar in Tunis contributed to this report for Magharebia –
With Tunisia reeling from the worst attack on its soldiers in more than 50 years, Algeria this week offered military equipment, troop reinforcements along the shared border and other counter-terrorism resources to its neighbour.
But the biggest threat may lie elsewhere. A one-eyed Algerian former cigarette smuggler and al-Qaeda ally now running his terror fiefdom from Libya may have instigated the slaughter of Tunisian troops last Wednesday.
In early July, reports emerged that Mokhtar Belmokhtar (aka Laaouar) met with the leader of the terrorist group hiding out in Jebel Chaambi.
***
As early as last December, Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal alerted Tunisian authorities that terrorist groups in Jebel Chaambi were funded from the proceeds of smuggling cigarettes and contraband.
The terrorist traffickers bring arms, drugs, cigarettes and other items into Tunisia from Libya via the land border crossings at Ras Jedir and Dhiba/Wazen. Smugglers also cross the desert in four-wheel drive vehicles.
***
According to Mouhamed Bizani of the Tunisian Customs Service, “smuggling through informal pathways, such as in deserts and mountains that are hard to reach by customs agents and border guards, hits the most important sectors.”
Tobacco represents 6% of the state budget providing 600 million in fiscal revenue, Bizani says. “And smuggling cigarettes is directly linked to terrorism.”
After all, he notes, terrorist Mokhtar Belmokhtar was a smuggler known as the “Marlboro Man“.
