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Subscribe to RSSA British couple made a dramatic escape from Timbuktu, Mali, after the town fell to fighters linked to al-Qaida, The Daily Telegraph of London reported Wednesday.
The newspaper said militiamen aided Neil Whitehead, 58, and Diane English, 53, in making an 850-mile desert trek to Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania.
The couple since 2010 operated the budget Hotel Alafia, catering to backpackers and independent travelers, until they learned al-Qaida offered to pay for their deaths, the Telegraph said.
Read the original story in The Telegraph
The town fell to the al-Qaida-linked fighters last weekend after a military coup left the area defenseless. The couple tried to leave Saturday but fleeing Mali soldiers blocked the roads, The Telegraph said.
English told the Telegraph the couple ran into a firefight she called “rather alarming.”
“We went back to the house again to keep our heads down but there was a lot of firing in the town -- it was clear a lot of people had a lot of weapons," English told the Telegraph.
British and French diplomats helped arrange their escape through the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), the main rebel group in the region, the report said. This Tuareg force helped kinfolk in Libya during that country's civil war, then returned with weapons looted from Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s abandoned armories.
The MNLA told alleged al-Qaida members hunting for the couple that they had already left, the Telegraph said. It's not clear what the relationship between the MNLA and the al-Qaida-linked fighters is.
After a three-day, largely sleepless excursion in old army trucks, the couple are seeking refuge in the French Embassy in Nouakchott, the Telegraph reported.
Bing map
A British couple reportedly fled from Timbuktu, Mali, to Nouakchott, Mauritania.
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al quida must be so proud of it's ass holes in timbuctu.chased out a bunch of villagers. wow. come on you cowards, fight like men, and fight where it counts.
Yeah, stand over there so the soldiers can shoot you, you stinking cowards!!!!!!
(Looks at map) Oh, that's why they call it Timbuktu.
Seriously, glad they got out ok. Sounds like another fun area of the world to go vacationing.
Probably not a good idea to name the specific rebel group that aided them, especially when you don't know what type of relationship they have with alqaida. Way to go, Geraldo.
Or how about the way they told where they're hiding.
With the arms looted from Libya mixed with the ones supplied to the Libyan rebels you can expect much more of this in the future. Gotta love spillover effects of our foreign policy. Destabilize one country and surrounding countries often easily fall. History has shown this to be true repeatedly yet politicians never learn.
I wonder how many of the Libyan arms that are present were given to the Libyan rebels that ended up there came from Obama's Administration. After the Mexican Drug Lord Arms Sale that the Administration did, I would not be surprised if all of them were. When is Holder going to be arrested? Perhaps Obama is afraid that Holder will turn on him if he was arrested? Where did the money from that Arms Sale go? Obama's re-election campaign maybe? Obama, the most corrupted president ever.
It is good that "good" Sunni Muslims al-Qaida have captured Timbuktu.
Now teams of Saudi Arabia, oil companies, lobbyists and their agents like John McCains, UN and its agencies should be flown there to establish "democracy", "secular" and "human rights."
Of course, it will badly need US aids to do reconstruction and to encourage moderate Muslims.
Part of al-Qaida should be arned and flown in the US "latest" transport aircraft to fight Syria's killer of "children and women", Assad.
And what if the informants actually want to take over their budget hotel, using the fear of al-Qaeda to kick them out? Americans would believe anything!
Or they could just shoot the owners and take the hotel.....fear not necessary.
They are British.
"Or they could just shoot the owners and take the hotel.....fear not necessary."
Dispossession by shooting may be the American way; it may not necessarily be other peoples' way; and hardly the most sensible way, if you don't want to covet Western anger!
"They are British."
The reference was to the incredulity of the American audience, not the couple.
What are you Sundiata?
What did our leader's do for an army ready and willing, trained and in place to combat islamist insurgents. Only in need of weapon's to combat the one's we put in the insurgents hands in the first place. Well we cut all aid except a little food until the crooked president and his military make up. Clearing a path of open door's for the islamist militants on their way to taking complete control of the country with no resistance at all. That's what our leader's decided was the best course of action.
Well I guess that's what you get as a democratic ally army willing to fight your own battles under this administration, nothing when you need it.
Not that I feel we should be everywhere. But when we cut aid to those willing to do for themselves against islamist insurgents. And then give aid to those like pakistan or concern ourselves with syria who will turn against us. It makes me wonder who is the real enemy?
Cutting all military aid to a democratic nation's army in the middle of an assault. Instead of cutting out the middleman, their president, the problem. Instead of making sure that what we give get's to where it should. Now it will take even more than we want to give to get another nation controlled by al-queda away from them. Good job Mr. president, way to stand by our democratic allies in their time of need.
Or does this seem to be a plan that another region is slowly becoming the new land of islam. As more and more of Africa become's intangled with al-queda? Beginning to think the long range plan is for him to retire to Africa surrounded by all his islamic friends where he can be king forever. At least that would make some sense out of the laughing stock our nation's policies of late have made of us. Gheeeeze what's going on here?
Wow, a 4-way conflict; the MNLA, Coup supporters, Al Quada, and the Loyalist forces all fighting over one nation.
load em all up w weapons,they'll kill themselves off then we can take what we want.Ps stupid british travellers