The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), organisers of the Dakar Rally (formerly Paris-Dakar), have cancelled this year's event, just a day before the scheduled January 5 start in Lisbon, citing terrorist threats in Mauritania and warnings from the French government.

This marks the first time that the 16-day, 5760-mile race has been cancelled in its 30-year history.

A press conference in Lisbon on January 4 confirmed that the rally would not be taking place on safety grounds. The decision follows the murder of four French tourists on December 24, believed to have been carried out by Al-Qaeda, and a series of direct threats on the race itself.