Safe havens: For militants, a world of choice

FACTBOX-
19 Jun 2009 10:57:55 GMT
Source: Reuters
June 19 (Reuters) - Under pressure in Pakistan, Osama bin Laden may be wondering where his next haven lies. The answer is unlikely to be Yemen or Somalia, despite their grisly new prominence as regional al Qaeda sanctuaries.

The following is a list of militant safe havens as defined by the U.S. State Department in its report on terrorism in 2008.

DEFINITION

Safe havens are "ungoverned, under-governed, or ill-governed areas of a country and non-physical areas where terrorists that constitute a threat to U.S. national security interests can organize, plan, raise funds, communicate, recruit, train, and operate in relative security because of inadequate governance capacity, political will, or both."

"Non-physical" havens means communications and financial systems, especially those created by electronic infrastructure such as the Internet.

AFRICA

Somalia.

A small number of al Qaeda operatives remain in East Africa, particularly Somalia, where they pose a serious threat to U.S. and allied interests in the region.

The Trans-Sahara.

Remote areas of the Sahel and Maghreb regions in Africa serve as safe havens because of limited government control in sparsely populated regions.

EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC

The Sulu/Sulawesi Seas Littoral.

Southeast Asia includes a safe haven area composed of the Sulawesi Sea and Sulu Archipelago, which sit astride the maritime boundary between Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The geography of the thousands of islands in the region made the area difficult for authorities to monitor.

The Southern Philippines.

The southern Philippines, specifically the Sulu archipelago and Mindanao, serve as safe havens. The government's control in this area is weak due to rugged terrain, weak rule of law, poverty, and local Muslim minority resentment of central governmental policies.

THE MIDDLE EAST

Iraq.

Iraq is not currently a safe haven, but armed groups including Sunni groups such as al Qaeda in Iraq, Ansar al-Islam and Ansar al-Sunna, as well as Shi'ite extremists and other groups, view Iraq as a potential safe haven.

Northern Iraq.

The Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) maintained an active presence in northern Iraq, from which it coordinated attacks in the predominantly ethnic Kurdish areas of southeastern Turkey and provided logistical support to forces that launched attacks into Turkey, primarily against Turkish security forces, local Turkish officials, and villagers who opposed the organization.

Lebanon.

Al Qaeda likely views Lebanon as an opportunity to expand its campaign into the Levant, especially after the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

Yemen.

The security situation in Yemen continued to deteriorate in 2008. Yemen experienced several setbacks to its counterterrorism efforts as al Qaeda in Yemen carried out several attacks against tourism and U.S and Yemeni government targets.

SOUTH ASIA

Afghan-Pakistan Border.

Despite the efforts of both Afghan and Pakistani security forces, instability along the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier continued to provide al Qaeda with leadership mobility and the ability to conduct training and operational planning, targeting Western Europe and U.S. interests in particular.

Pakistan.

Al Qaeda militants, foreign insurgents, and Pakistani militants have broadened and strengthened their safe havens in portions of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas North-West Frontier Province and Baluchistan in 2008.

Afghanistan.

The Afghan government, with Western forces and the international community, continued efforts to eliminate safe havens and build security on the Afghan side of the border. The border areas remained contested, however, with ongoing insurgent and terrorist attacks, including al Qaeda activity.

WESTERN HEMISPHERE

Colombia Border Region.

The regions adjacent to Colombia's borders with Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Brazil include rough terrain and dense forest cover. These conditions, coupled with low population densities and weak government presence, create potential areas of safe haven for insurgent and militant groups, particularly the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Venezuela.

Corruption within the Venezuelan government and military; ideological ties with the FARC; and weak international counternarcotics cooperation have fuelled a permissive operating environment for drug traffickers and an increase in drug transit to the United States and Europe.

The Tri-Border Area (Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay).

The United States remains concerned that Hezbollah, Hamas or other Islamic extremist groups use the region as a safe haven to raise funds. Suspected supporters of Islamist militant groups take advantage of loosely regulated territory to participate in a wide range of illicit activities and to solicit donations from within the sizable Muslim communities in the region and elsewhere in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. (Editing by Giles Elgood)