Al-Mourabitoun (jihadist group)

Al-Mourabitoun
المرابطون
Participant in Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)
2012 insurgency in northern Mali
Active August 2013-Present
Ideology Salafist jihadism
Leaders Abubakr al-Masri † [1]
Area of operations  Mali
 Niger
 Libya
Strength Under 100 (May 2014, French claim)[1]
Originated as Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa
Masked Men Brigade
Allies

Ansar Dine

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Battles and wars Northern Mali conflict

Al-Mourabitoun (Arabic: المرابطون‎ al-Murābiṭūn; "The Sentinels") is an African militant Jihadist organisation formed by a merger between Ahmed Telmissi's Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa and Mokhtar Belmokhtar's Masked Men Brigade.[2]

Al-Mourabitoun is composed mostly of Tuaregs and Arabs from the northern Mali regions of Timbuktu, Kidal and Gao, but also includes Algerians, Tunisians and other nationalities. Its area of operations is in the north of Mali, near towns such as Tessalit and Ansongo.[1]

Although the group's establishment was announced by Belmokhtar, the group's leader was said to be a non-Algerian veteran of the anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan and the 2002 battles against American forces in the same country,[3] later identified by French Intelligence as an Egyptian known as Abubakr al-Nasri (al-Masri). Abubakr was reportedly killed by French Special forces in North Eastern Mali between 10 and 17 April 2014, as was senior commander Omar Ould Hamaha weeks earlier.[1]

The group is named after the Almoravids, a North African Islamic dynasty of the 11th and 12th centuries.[3]

The group has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United Nations,[4] Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Mali: qui sont les nouveaux chefs des katibas jihadistes?". Radio France Internationale. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "Belmokhtar's militants 'merge' with Mali's Mujao". BBC. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Al-Murabitun: North Africa’s Jihadists Reach into History in Their Battle against European "Crusaders"". Jamestown Foundation. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  4. ↑ "The List established and maintained by the Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee with respect to individuals, groups, undertakings and other entities associated with Al-Qaida". United Nations Security Council Committee 1267. UN.org. 2014-11-19. Retrieved 2014-11-21.