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Dakar cancelled due to security
From correspondents in Lisbon, Portugal

January 04, 2008 THE Dakar Rally has been cancelled because of security concerns, race organisers have announced.

The race had been due to start in Lisbon this weekend but the murder of four French tourists in Mauritania on December 24 led to the French Government advising against any travel to the country.

The rally was due to pass through Mauritanian territory for nine days from January 11-19 before finishing in Dakar on January 20.

"Following several consultations with the French Government - in particular the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - and taking into account its firm recommendations, the organisers of the Dakar have taken the decision to cancel the 2008 edition of the rally scheduled for January 5-20 between Lisbon and the Senegalese capital," the Amaury Sport Organisation said in a statement.

The ASO said there had been "direct threats against the race issued by terrorist groups".

"ASO's prime responsibility is to ensure the security of everyone involved," the organistaion said in its statement, adding that the organisers would never take any risks with safety matters.

"The terrorist menace has wiped out a year's hard work carried out with conviction and passion by the participants and all those involved."

Scores of competitors in cars, motorbikes and lorries had already arrived in Lisbon for the customary technical checks ahead of the race start.

Rally organisers and competitors were initially defiant, saying they were willing to take the risk but the pressure increased with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner adding his voice of warning.

"We are warning them - it is dangerous," Kouchner said.

"I hope that they have understood, but it's their business, they are a private organisation."

Apart from the deaths of the four French tourists, an Al-Qaeda group is believed to be active in northern Africa, and willing to target the high-profile race.

The Mauritanian Government said the shooting of the French tourists and a separate attack on a military base that left three soldiers dead were isolated incidents, and that claims of an Al-Qaeda plot had yet to be substantiated.

Mali has already been excluded from the race for security reasons.

The Dakar Rally has been held uninterrupted since 1979 although there have been regular calls for its cancellation over security fears and the danger the fast-travelling vehicles pose to local populations.

Never before in the race's turbulent 30-year history has it failed to go ahead, and the abandonment of this year's rally will cast doubts over future editions.

But the rally organisers insisted that future editions would go ahead.

"The Dakar is a symbol and nothing can destroy such symbols," the ASO said.

"The cancellation of the 2008 race does not threaten the future of the Dakar. To propose as off next year a new adventure for all those who are passionate about rally racing is a challenge that ASO can meet."

Agence France-Presse