Mauritanian troops yesterday hunted highway robbers who fled across the Sahara desert after robbing about 50 Dakar Rally competitors at gunpoint. One by one the drivers fell into a trap set up by about 20 well-armed men 50 kms from the end of the 12th stage in Tichit, Mauritania, on Wednesday night.
"I had the fright of a lifetime," said driver Eric Vigouroux, describing how he was separated from the other drivers in the dark by a man armed with a submachine-gun who demanded everything he had.
The competitors were held for several hours until midnight, when the robbers made off with four cars, three trucks, a motorcycle, money and identity documents.
According to drivers the ambush was carried out with military precision and they suspected the robbers to be rebels from Mali.
Race director Hubert Auriol said Thursday's 13th stage would go ahead as planned.
He said the three stolen trucks had later been found abandoned in the desert and were being driven back to race headquarters.
According to French television reports helicopters later spotted the robbers heading northeast for the Malian or Algerian border and Mauritanian troops were in pursuit.
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