Weberence.com

Few hours before the start of the famous Dakar (January 5th) rally across the Sahara Desert, the organizers, Amaury Sport Organization - ASO, canceled the event. This was done due to serious security concerns over possible terrorist attacks in Mauritania. The concerns came from the murder of 4 French tourists in Mauritania (where 8 stages of the 15 rally would take place) along with direct threats possibly from Al-Qaeda.

The 2008 Dakar rally was scheduled to be a 9000 km long race, for the 570 contestants, ending on the 20th of January after passing from 6 countries (Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania and Senegal)