Mali – Page 4

New video message from Jamā’at Nuṣrat al-Islām Wa-l-Muslimīn’s Iyād Agh Ghālī: “And God Will Surely Support Those Who Support Him”

Posted on December 12, 2023December 12, 2023 by Aaron Y. Zelin

The title of this release is in reference to Qur’anic verse 22:40. Here it is in full: “[They are] those who have been evicted from their homes without right – only because they say, ‘Our Lord is God.’ And were it not that God checks the people, some by means of others, there would have been demolished monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which the name of God is much mentioned. And God will surely support those who support Him. Indeed, God is Powerful and Exalted in Might.”

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Source: Telegram

To inquire about a translation for this video message for a fee email: [email protected]

New video message from Jamā’at Nuṣrat al-Islām Wa-l-Muslimīn: “A Double Attack Targeting the Niafounké and Goundam Barracks”

Posted on November 25, 2023November 26, 2023 by Aaron Y. Zelin

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Source: Telegram

To inquire about a translation for this video message for a fee email: [email protected]

New video message from Jamā’at Nuṣrat al-Islām Wa-l-Muslimīn: “But If They Fight You, Then Kill Them #2”

Posted on October 13, 2023October 16, 2023 by Aaron Y. Zelin

Click here for the first part in this video series.

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Source: Telegram

To inquire about a translation for this video message for a fee email: [email protected]

New statement from al-Qā’idah in the Islamic Maghrib and Jamā’at Nuṣrat al-Islām Wa-l-Muslimīn: “The Jews Were Terrified At the Proximity of the Promises”

Posted on October 13, 2023October 13, 2023 by Aaron Y. Zelin

Click the following link for a safe PDF copy: al-Qā’idah in the Islamic Maghrib and Jamā’at Nuṣrat al-Islām Wa-l-Muslimīn — The Jews Were Terrified At the Proximity of the Promises

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Source: Telegram

To inquire about a translation for this statement for a fee email: [email protected]

Check out my Congressional Testimony for the Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence: “The Future of Homeland Security: Addressing the Rise of Terrorism in Africa”

Posted on September 27, 2023October 4, 2023 by Aaron Y. Zelin

Thank you Mr. Chairman and members of the committee for giving me the opportunity to testify today on terrorism threats emanating from parts of the African continent, in particular focusing on issues and recommendations related to the Sahel region, especially in Mali where insecurity is getting worse by the day. There are two main jihadist groups now operating there: the Islamic State’s Sahel Province and Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM).

This increased insecurity can be directly linked to the August 2022 withdrawal of French forces operating under the Operation Barkhane counterinsurgency mission. At the time of the French departure, the Mali insurgency had not been deterred or defeated, but it has undoubtedly worsened since. This suggests France at the very least was managing the situation in hopes that a future easing of the political tempest would facilitate a more sustainable resolution. The French withdrew at the request of the government of interim Malian president Assimi Goita, who seized power after a May 2021 coup and expressed his preference for the Russian-sponsored Wagner Group as a counterterrorism partner.

The latter point highlights the fact that Washington and its allies cannot bifurcate counterterrorism and great power competition. A position that casts counterterrorism and great power competition as an either/or challenge will only undermine the challenge of both. While this discussion is focused on Mali and the Sahel more generally, this dynamic first occurred in Syria since the 2011 uprising and is also playing out in Afghanistan following the U.S. withdrawal in mid-August 2021.

Click here to read the written testimony it in full.

Check out my new ‘Policy Note’ with Sarah Cahn for the Washington Institute: “Exploiting a ‘Vast Jihad Arena’: The Islamic State Takes Territory in Mali”

Posted on September 26, 2023October 10, 2023 by Aaron Y. Zelin

In April, Islamic State fighters in Mali seized villages surrounding the city of Menaka, marking the group’s first territorial conquest since losing its final Syrian foothold in 2019. The human cost of these advances has been steep. By May, at least 150,000 individuals had reportedly been displaced, and civilians have been subjected to targeted killings, kidnappings, and looting. The offensive occurred amid a string of regional of security setbacks: namely, France’s August 2022 military withdrawal (which followed the Malian junta’s expressed preference for Russia’s Wagner Group), the April 2023 dissolution of the UN mission in Mali, and the junta’s decision earlier this month to form a tripartite alliance with Burkina Faso and Niger, thereby undermining the French-led G5 Sahel framework designed to thwart jihadist actors in the region.

In this amply illustrated Policy Note, Aaron Zelin and Sarah Cahn explain that while the United States may have limited room for maneuver in Mali today, it can promote regional stability and U.S. national interests by pursuing further sanctions against local Islamic State officials and exploring constructive arrangements with nearby African states.

Click here to read the paper in full.

New statement from al-Qā’idah in the Islamic Maghrib and Jamā’at Nuṣrat al-Islām Wa-l-Muslimīn: “Condolences and Sympathy To Our Afflicted People in Morocco and Libya”

Posted on September 16, 2023September 17, 2023 by Aaron Y. Zelin

Click the following link for a safe PDF copy: al-Qā’idah in the Islamic Maghrib and Jamā’at Nuṣrat al-Islām Wa-l-Muslimīn — Condolences and Sympathy To Our Afflicted People in Morocco and Libya

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Source: Telegram

To inquire about a translation for this statement for a fee email: [email protected]

New video message from Jamā’at Nuṣrat al-Islām Wa-l-Muslimīn: “Speech By Muṣṭafā al-Sharīf”

Posted on September 9, 2023September 10, 2023 by Aaron Y. Zelin

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Source: Telegram

To inquire about a translation for this video message for a fee email: [email protected]

New statement from Jamā’at Nuṣrat al-Islām Wa-l-Muslimīn: “Do You Fear Them? But God Has More Right That You Should Fear Him, If You Are [Truly] Believers”

Posted on August 21, 2023August 22, 2023 by Aaron Y. Zelin

The title of this release is in reference to Qur’anic verse 9:13. Here it is in full: “Would you not fight a people who broke their oaths and determined to expel the Messenger, and they had begun [the attack upon] you the first time? Do you fear them? But God has more right that you should fear Him, if you are [truly] believers.”

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Arabic:

Jamā’at Nuṣrat al-Islām Wa-l-Muslimīn — Do You Fear Them? But God Has More Right That You Should Fear Him, If You Are [Truly] Believers

English:

Jamā’at Nuṣrat al-Islām Wa-l-Muslimīn — Do You Fear Them? But God Has More Right That You Should Fear Him, If You Are [Truly] Believers (En)

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Source: Telegram

The Islamic State’s Fourth Bayat Campaign

Posted on August 6, 2023August 16, 2023 by Aaron Y. Zelin

Previously, I tracked the bayat campaign for Abu Ibrahim after Abu Bakr’s death, then for Abu al-Hasan after Abu Ibrahim’s death, and then for Abu al-Husayn after Abu al-Hasan’s death. This post will do the same with the announcement of Abu al-Husayn’s death and Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Quarashi as the new leader of the Islamic State. As I said in the original post:

There are two main reasons for this: 1. pledges are leader-specific rather than group-specific and thus need to be renewed with each succession and 2. it is a way to legitimize al-Qurashi’s rule and create a media event so that the group can promote itself as it transitions to a new phase.

The first reason is also something that IS pointed to when it began to overtly feud with al-Qaeda (AQ) in 2013, by saying that following Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi’s death, his successor Abu Hamzah al-Muhajir gave baya to the newly created Islamic State of Iraq’s leader Abu ‘Umar al-Baghdadi and even after Abu ‘Umar was killed, when Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi took over in 2010 and then Usamah Bin Laden was killed in 2011, Abu Bakr never publicly gave baya to Ayman al-Zawahiri, even if al-Zawahiri claims he gave it to him privately. Therefore, from the perspective of IS this whole process is not trivial, but important for legitimacy of its leadership and to potentially weed out any insubordination before it manifests into something larger as it already did in the past vis-a-vis AQ.

This post will be updated with the latest official pledges.

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August 5, 2023:

Wilāyat al-‘Irāq