Tag: al-Qaeda

Africa
Mali

ICC convicts Mali militant of war crimes

The International Criminal Court (ICC) convicted al-Qaeda-linked militant leader al-Hassan ag-Abdoul Aziz ag-Mohamed ag-Mahmoud of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in terrorizing the civilian population of the Malian city of Timbuktu. The charges against al-Hassan stem from his time as de facto leader of the Islamic Police, an unofficial enforcement body established by armed Islamist groups when they controlled the city between 2012 and 2013. The group patrolled the city day and night, imposing harsh new rules that severely restricted daily life. The force imposed extreme punishments, including flogging and amputation, for such perceived violations of Islamic law as extramarital relations, alcohol consumption, and smoking. The Court found that al-Hassan played a “key role” in the Islamic Police throughout the period of of control of Timbuktu by Ansar Dine and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).  (Map: PCL)

Africa
west africa

Uranium at issue in Great Game for West Africa

The ruling junta in Niger revoked the operating license of French nuclear fuel producer Orano at one of the world’s largest uranium mines. Russian companies have meanwhile indicated interest in picking up the lease for the giant Imouraren mine. However, exports are stalled by closure of the border with Benin, the vital sea corridor for landlocked Niger, as tensions mount between the two countries. The uranium dispute comes as French and US troops have been forced to withdraw from Niger, and Russian forces have moved in. The Pentagon’s AFRICOM commander Gen. Michael Langley has acknowledged that the US is seeking to establish new bases in neighboring West African countries, including Benin. (Map: Wikivoyage)

Africa
Niger

Niger: jihadis score deadly blow against junta

Authorities in Niger declared three days of national mourning after an ambush on security forces near the village of Tassia resulted in the deaths of at least 20 soldiers and one civilian. Tassia lies in the western Tillabéri region bordering Mali and Burkina Faso, long a stronghold of jihadist​ insurgents. The incident highlights the growing challenges facing the ruling junta one year after it came to power in a July 2023 coup, overthrowing the civilian government led by Mohamed Bazoum. (Map: PCL)

Africa
Mali

War crimes seen in Mali conflict

An Islamist armed group linked to al-Qaeda killed at least 32 civilians, including three children, and set fire to over 350 homes in central Mali in January, forcing about 2,000 villagers to flee, Human Rights Watch reports. Earlier in January, a Bambara ethnic militia formed to oppose the jihadists killed at least 13 civilians, including two children, abducted 24 other civilians, and looted property and livestock in central Mali. These attacks, which HRW said are apparent war crimes, occurred amid a cycle of reprisal killings and communal violence in central Mali, pitting the Dogon and Bambara against the Fulani. (Map: PCL)

Africa
Sahel

Sahel states defect from ECOWAS

Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso announced they are withdrawing from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), issuing a joint statement saying they had taken a “sovereign decision” to abandon the regional bloc of which they were founding members in 1975. The statement charges that ECOWAS has “drifted from the ideals of its founding fathers and the spirit of Pan-Africanism,” and is now “under the influence of foreign powers.” All three countries are led by military juntas after undergoing coups d’etat, which resulted in their suspension from the bloc. All three countries have also moved closer under their respective military regimes to Russia, whose Wagner Group mercenary force is backing up a new Malian government offensive against Tuareg separatist rebels. (Map: Wikivoyage)

Africa
Daouda Diallo

Burkina Faso’s leading rights activist ‘disappeared’

Regional NGO alliance the People’s Coalition for the Sahel is demanding the immediate return alive of human rights defender Daouda Diallo, secretary general of Burkina Faso’s Collective Against Impunity & Stigmatization of Communities (CISC). The CISC announced that Diallo was abducted on a Ouagadougou street by at least four unidentified men in civilian clothes. Diallo’s CISC has been raising the alarm about ethnically targeted killings in Burkina Faso under the military regimes that have been in power since a January 2022 coup. It is believed Diallo may have been “requisitioned” by the armed forces to participate in the very counterinsurgency campaign that his group has been protesting. (Image: CISC via OHCR)

Africa
Niger

Niger junta pivots from the EU to Russia

The ruling junta in Niger has broken off a military partnership with the European Union that provided training and equipment for the counterinsurgency against jihadist rebels. The rupture is linked to the EU’s refusal to engage with the junta that took power in a July coup. Russian officials have meanwhile visited the country, signing documents to strengthen military cooperation. Russian support for other armies in the Sahel region has led to massive rights abuses, yet the EU’s own record was far from exemplary. The bloc spent large sums on Niger’s military but failed to implement measures to prevent abuses—resulting in civilian casualties that played into the hands of the jihadists. (Map: PCL)

Africa
Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso: junta pursues ‘total war’

Burkina Faso’s emergency aid and security challenges are deepening as the junta-led regime pursues an aggressive military campaign against jihadist insurgents, who have now extended their control to some 40% of the national territory. The country has faced armed insurgency since 2015, but fatalities and relief needs have hit record highs since army Captain Ibrahim TraorĂ© seized power from a different junta last year, and launched a “total war” against the jihadists. Over two million people have been displaced, and 4.7 million require assistance, an increase of more than 1 million over last year. (Map: Perry-Castañeda Library)

Africa
Sankara

Burkina Faso: Sankara gets a street — but where’s the legacy?

Thomas Sankara, the revolutionary leader of Burkina Faso, was assassinated in a coup 36 years ago this week. Some see his legacy being carried forward by the head of the country’s current junta, Ibrahim TraorĂ©. Like Sankara, TraorĂ© seized power in his early 30s and has espoused strong anti-imperialist views. He has cut ties with former colonial ruler France, and snubbed offers of Western military aid. At a commemoration this week in Ouagadougou, authorities officially had the capital city’s Boulevard Charles de Gaulle renamed Boulevard Thomas Sankara. Detractors say Traoré mobilizes anti-imperialism to legitimize his rule, which is threatened by disgruntled soldiers and jihadist insurgents. The army captain, in power since late last year, has pursued an all-out military strategy against jihadists, spurning the dialogue options pursued by his predecessors. Insecurity has worsened under his watch, and his troops have been accused of brutal attacks against civilians. (Photo via Global Voices)

Africa
Mali

Mali: air-strikes on Tuareg rebels reported

Mali’s military reportedly carried out air-strikes against Tuareg militants in the desert north—an escalation that risks opening up another conflict front in the country, which is already embroiled in a long counterinsurgency war with jihadist rebels. The accusation was made by the Coordinating Body of Azawad Movements (CMA), a coalition of Tuareg rebel groups that signed a peace deal with the Malian government in 2015. The government claims to have struck jihadist positions in the Kidal region, but the CMA rebels charge that they were targeted. Two weeks earlier, the CMA also accused Malian forces and Russian Wagner Groupmercenaries of attacking its followers in the Timbuktu region. (Map: PCL)

Africa
Niger

Military coup d’etat consolidated in Niger

Niger’s national broadcaster identified Gen. Abdourahamane Tiani as president of the country’s new military government following a coup that deposed elected President Mohamed Bazoum. The country’s new ruling junta, called the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Homeland, was formed out of Niger’s presidential guard, which carried out the coup. The AU, EU, US and Russia have all condemned the coup as unconstitutional. However, Wagner Group commander Yevgeni Prigozhin lauded the coup as part of “the struggle of the people of Niger [against] their colonizers,” and and offered his fighters’ services to bring order. Pro-coup protesters in Niger have been photographed with Russian flags. (Map: PCL)

Africa
Burkina Faso

Ghana: cease forced return of Burkinabé refugees

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said it is concerned about reports that hundreds of Burkinabé refugees fleeing to Ghana, including women and children, are being deported. According to UNHCR, more than 17,500 Burkina Faso nationals have fled to neighboring countries, including Niger, Mali and Ghana, since January 2021 as a result of the ongoing internal conflict. Ghana is accused of having forcibly deported more than 500 Burkinabé seeking protection along the border. A video on Twitter showing expelled women and children sitting in a parking lot near the border has been widely circulated. The UNHCR called on Ghana to stop the deportations, saying that they amount to a violation of the non-refoulement principle. (Photo: Leonardo Perez Aranda via Wikimedia Commons)