Dakar cancelled

The annual Dakar rally has been cancelled thanks to direct terrorist threats, in its 29th year.

However optimistic organizers say the event, which has outlived its founder Thierry Sabine by several years, will be back.

An announcement from the organizers, from Lisbon, said: "After different exchanges with the French government - in particular the Ministry for Foreign Affairs - and based on their firm recommendations, the organisers of the Dakar have taken the decision to cancel the 2008 edition of the rally, scheduled from the 5th to the 20th of January between Lisbon and Senegal's capital."

"Based on the current international political tension and the murder of four French tourists last 24th of December linked to a branch of Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb, but also and mainly the direct threats launched directly against the race by terrorist organisations, no other decision but the cancellation of the sporting event could be taken."

The International Herald Tribune (IHT.com) reports: "Victor Anderes, vice president of special projects at Global Security Associates, a New York-based firm that provides security for high-profile events including the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, called the cancellation unprecedented."

" 'Smaller cultural events have been canceled before because of terror threats, but this hasn't happened with such a major international event,’ he said. "

'The threat is significant,' Anderes said."

Opinion is divided over whether the organizers have made the right call, with some security experts expressing dismay that the terrorists involved have scored a media victory without firing a shot.

Some 550 competitors on bikes and in trucks and cars, were to have started the race on 5 January, from Lisbon, Portugal. The 16-day event traverses 9270km, finishing in Dakar, Senegal.