PARIS — The annual Dakar Rally was canceled Friday on the eve of the race because of terror threats and the recent slaying of a French family in Mauritania that was blamed on al-Qaida-linked militants.
It was the first time in the 30-year history of the automobile, motorcycle and truck race across the Sahara Desert that the race has been called off. In a statement, organizers blamed international tensions, the tourists’ Dec. 24 murders and “threats launched directly against the race by terrorist organizations.”
“No other decision but the cancellation of the sporting event could be taken,” they said.
France, where the race organizers are based, had urged the rally to avoid Mauritania after the family of four was slain in an attack blamed on a terror cell that uses the Mauritanian desert as a hide-out.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner praised the decision.
“In our opinion, in a complicated geographical context — and above all in a context of insufficient security — it seems very wise to have chosen security, and I commend them for it,” he told France-Info radio.
The race organized by the Amaury Sport Organization, which also runs the Tour de France, had been due to start in Lisbon, Portugal, on Saturday and finish in Dakar, Senegal, on Jan. 20. Eight of the stages had been set to take place in Mauritania.
Some 550 car, truck and motorcycle drivers were expected for the 5,760-mile trek.
The race’s central appeal — its course through African deserts, scrubland and savannas — is also a weak point for security, making it difficult to protect the drivers as they traverse such remote regions.
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