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Rabat- Abdelhak Khiame, Head of Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ), has once again expressed his concerns over the security threat in Sahel, where terror groups continue to jeopardize the stability of the region.
In an interview with the Casablanca-based Le Reporter the Moroccan official deplored the security situation in the Sahel region, describing it as “a fertile ground for terrorism.”
This was not the only concern of the BCIJ chief: several other security weaknesses have emerged in the Sahel region.
Khiame explicitly underscored the link between terrorism and drug trafficking.
Khiame explained that Morocco has managed to arrest many suspects involved in drug trafficking. Speaking about the security threats in the Sahel region, the BCIK chief said that illegal activity serves as a means of escaping from poverty for many separatists living in Tindouf in southern Algeria.
Many of the same separatist groups are members of terrorist organizations, including Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
Khiame described these trafficking circles as a clear means of financing terrorism in the region, which is already a “fertile ground for terrorism,”posing a threat not only to Morocco, but also Algeria and the entire region.
He added that Morocco has put in place an “efficient” policy, as well as a security system, in order to confront all dangers related to terrorism and drug trafficking. The security apparatus has produced “record seizures” of cocaine and the dismantlement of several drug trafficking rings across Morocco.
This is not the first time when Khiame expressed his deep concerns over the region. In April 2017, Khiame told French TV Channel France 24, that regional cooperation is very important in battling the transnational threat of terrorism.
In a February interview with Le Monde, Khiame verified that Morocco works with its partners, efficiently exchanging information about binationals tied to terrorist cells.
“We have liaison officers in the partner countries and Western liaison officers herein Morocco,” he said.
Khiame, however, has expressed his concerns over the lack of cooperation between Morocco and its eastern neighbor.
“The problem is the absence of collaboration from the Algerians and the existence of an area controlled by a terrorist group,” he said, referring to the Polisario Front.
