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The Dakar Rally, the race across the Sahara deemed to be one of motorsport's toughest and most dangerous, has been cancelled for the first time in its 30-year history because of security fears.
The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), which organises the race, said it took the last-minute decision
following the murders of four French tourists in Mauritania, as well as threats from terrorist groups against the rally itself, which was due to start in Lisbon overnight.
"No other decision but the cancellation of the sporting event could be taken," the ASO said in a statement last night. "[We] condemn the terrorist menace that annihilates a year of hard work, engagement and passion for all the participants."
Three gunmen, who police suspect were linked to al-Qaeda, shot dead four French tourists in Mauritania on 24 December as they had a picnic at the roadside near the border with Senegal. The killings prompted the French Government to issue a security warning.
The Dakar Rally, which used to start in Paris but for the past two years has departed from Portugal, has a chequered history. In 1991, a French driver was shot dead in Mali in a killing that appeared linked to the conflict between Tuareg rebels and the army.
In 2000, organisers were forced to halt the race in Niger, in order to put in place an emergency airlift to neighbouring Libya. Last year, threats by an al-Qaeda-affiliated group to kidnap drivers led to two stages of the race through Mali being axed, including one to the fabled desert town of Timbuktu.
Until now, however, no threat was deemed serious enough to call off the entire 6440km race. More than 500 teams had registered to take part and their support vehicles had already set off. The fuel had been sent ahead.
"We worked for months and invested lots of money," said Andre Dessoud, the head of the Nissan team. "I don't have a clue what we're going to do."
Cyril Neveu, a five-times Dakar winner in the motorbike category, acknowledged the race could have been targeted by terrorists.
"It is a big caravan of more than 3000 people. Providing security from the first to the last competitor is an onerous job. One cannot say there was zero risk."
The cancellation will also hurt the villages and cities which enjoy an economic windfall. The head of the hoteliers' association in Senegal, where the race was due to end on January 20, said the losses would run into millions of dollars and the publicity could hurt the country's image as a tourist destination.
Not everyone will mourn the lack of a rally. Organisers have been criticised for sending powerful cars racing through the sands and savannahs of countries where some residents are not made sufficiently aware. In 2006, children in Guinea and Senegal died after being hit by rally vehicles.
- THE INDEPENDENT