Times Live:

Mauritania's air force bombarded Sunday positions held by militants of Al-Qaeda's north African wing in northern Mali, a senior Mauritarian military official told AFP.

"Our army at this moment is pounding the positions of the AQIM terrorists in the north of Mali," said the official at around 1200 GMT, referring to the group known as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

The action was "in the framework of the fight against bands of terrorists who plague the Saharan-Sahel region, and who threaten the security and stability along Mauritania's border," he said.

The official described the action as a "logical continuation" of an offensive started on Friday and continuing Saturday, which also included aircraft, after a convoy of militants was spotted approaching the Mauritanian border from Mali.

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Lesueur, a general delegate at the Thomas More Institute, said the EU had a role to play in putting an end to the conflict between Morocco and Algeria over Western Sahara, a 266,000 square-kilometre territory that has been a bone of contention between the two countries.

According to him, the new distribution of portfolios within the European Commission should accelerate progress, as several commissioners are concerned by the issue. He also proposed to appoint a coordinator.

"We urge the EU to reinvest itself in the region and place its relations with the Maghreb at the top of its agenda," he said.

Moreover, "the EU should help projects and business development," he said, stressing the importance of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), launched in 2008 under the French EU Presidency.

On migration, Lesueur explained that Morocco had problems similar to those faced by Europe in dealing with its southern neighbourhood. As sub-Sahel migrants move north to reach Europe, "Maghreb countries are transforming themselves into transit countries, and are also slowly turning into host countries," he said, remarking that thousands of Senegalese are currently living in Algerian capital Tangiers.