French Islamist in Mali warns against military intervention

NOUAKCHOTT — A French Islamist has warned France, the United States and the United Nation against staging a military intervention in Mali, in a video posted on the Internet Tuesday.

The video, posted by the Mauritanian online news agency Sahara Media, came as French President Francois Hollande promised Tuesday to provide support for a UN-backed African military intervention in Mali, where Islamist groups seized control of the north after a March coup.

Speaking in French and sporting a black turban with a rifle at his side before a background mentioning Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Abdel Jelil warned that a military intervention "would only cause sedition, major sedition and a human and humanitarian catastrophe." (continue reading...)