The French military said Monday that a “senior leader” of the al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) had been killed in an overnight raid by EU troops on Operation Barkhane on February 25-26.
France says Yahia Djouadi, an Algerian Islamist fighter also known as Abu Ammar al-Jazairi, was killed in central Mali, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) north of Timbuktu. According to the French authorities, Djouadi was responsible for financing and curating the group in the Sahel region of Africa.
A statement from the French military said the assassination was “once again weakening al Qaeda’s rule in Mali” and described Jawadi as “an important liaison in northern Mali, especially in the Timbuktu region.”
Judy previously served as the “emir” of al Qaeda forces in Libya before fleeing to Mali in 2019. From his base near Timbuktu, Judy is said to have coordinated funding, supplies and logistics for jihadists. France said it had been killed by ground forces operating with air support.
French forces withdrawing from Mali continue to fight the jihadists
French President Emmanuel Macron recently announced the withdrawal of the country’s troops from Mali and their redeployment to neighboring nations in the region. The French military said the withdrawal would take up to six months, adding that “operations continue against the armed terrorist groups, especially the top leaders of Al Qaeda, GSIM and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS).”
France has maintained a troop presence in Mali since 2013, with 2,400 troops currently in the country. But he was disappointed with the leadership in the West African nation after two military coups that led to the establishment of a ruling junta that refused to step down and appears to have postponed the elections indefinitely.
At the same time as French forces began withdrawing, Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group began arriving to help the junta – although Mali’s military leaders have said they have no contact with the Russians. Despite international aid, Mali and other Sahel countries have struggled to quell Islamist insurgents. In addition, the region has recently been plagued by a wave of military coups, with Mali being one of seven countries that have lost their government in the past 18 months.
Jihadists in the attack, kill the UN peacekeepers
The jihadists, who are given the opportunity to establish themselves in the midst of regional political unrest, continue to terrorize the region and international peacekeepers. On Monday, two members of the force of the Multinimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) were killed in a roadside bomb attack when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device.
“This morning, a supply convoy … struck an improvised explosive device north of Mopti,” MINUSMA spokesman Olivier Salgado wrote on Twitter. Four other peacekeepers were injured in the attack.
MINUSMA leader El-Ghassim Wane also tweeted about the attack, calling it “a tragic reminder of the daily threat we face as we fight for peace in Mali.” Wayne also called on Mali to “spare no effort” to identify those responsible for the attack.
The nationalities of the dead and wounded in the attack were not immediately known.
The future of the UN peacekeeping mission is in question
The Western nations participating in the international mission have said that the changing situation on the ground could actually jeopardize the 13,000-strong force, whose annual mandate is due to be renewed in June. As with the French development in Mali, UN troops have been on the ground in the Sahel since 2013 in an effort to stop the advance of Islamist militants who began to seriously challenge governments and civilians in the region in 2012.
MINUSMA troops are heavily dependent on French air and medical support throughout their mission. France’s withdrawal from Mali, as well as the recent coup, have forced countries such as Germany, Sweden and Denmark to reconsider their commitment to it.
js / msh (AFP, Reuters)
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