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Lisbon to Dakar Rally Cancelled
On 24 December a part of French tourists were
picnicking near the small town of Aleg, 150 miles east of
Mauritania's capital, Nouakchott. They were approached by a group of
gunmen who demanded money. When the tourists refused, the gunmen
shot four of the party dead. The local police believe that the
gunmen have links with Al Qaeda. (see
Guardian news item) Subsequently
the French Government advised French citizens not to travel to
Mauritania, and advised the French organisers of the Lisbon-Dakar
Rally not to go ahead with the event (see
further Guardian news item)
and on 4 January, the 2008 Rally was cancelled. (see
announcement) Meanwhile the UK
Foreign Office is advising against all but essential travel in
eastern parts of Mauritania, adjacent to Algeria and Mali. (Foreign
Office announcement)
Plymouth to Bamako & Banjul Challenges
The
2008
Plymouth-Dakar Challenge
destinations are Bamako/Timbuktu for groups 1 to 5, and Banjul for
groups 6 to 9. The Bamako/Timbuktu route keeps close to the Senegal
border before crossing into Mali, so hopefully avoids the
problematic areas. Groups 1 to 3 have already passed through
Mauritania, and many have already completed the challenge. Group 4
are close to entering Mauritania, while Group 5 have yet to start
from the UK on 11 January. The route of the Banjul Challenge stays
close to the coast through Mauritania. Some of Group 6 have already
crossed Mauritania, Group 7 are mainly in Morocco and Group 8 are in
France or Spain. Group 9 are due to leave the UK on 11 January.
Unlike the Lisbon-Dakar Rally, these challenges are completely
unsupported, so the teams are making their own decisions. It seems
that they are all likely to proceed with their journeys, keeping up
to date with the latest news and taking sensible extra precautions.
It is possible that the journey through Mauritania will keep to
tarmac roads, rather than going 'off piste', and teams will keep
together in large convoys. Team
Transplant Titans
in Group 9 have their web page on the Pageant site, where you can
find more news.
The 4Ts Adventure
The
4Ts Adventure
is two cars making an independent trip to Timbuktu and Bamako. The
latest report is that they have crossed into Mauritania, but there
is no indication that they intend to change their itinerary.
Update 7 January
Julian Nowill, one of the organisers of the
Plymouth-Banjul Challenge has been in touch with teams currently in
or near Mauritania. No one has reported any signs of trouble, and so
far only two teams have given up the Challenge, and this could be
for any number of reasons. On the bulletin boards, many teams have
expressed their intention of pressing on. It looks like the
Challenge will continue unless there is a serious deterioration in
the security situation.
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