Al-Mourabitoun (militant group)
| al-Mourabitoun | |
|---|---|
|
المرابطون Participant in the Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present) Northern Mali conflict | |
|
| |
| Active | August 2013 – present |
| Ideology | Salafist jihadism |
| Leaders |
Abubakr al-Masri † [1] Mokhtar Belmokhtar[2] |
| Area of operations |
 Algeria Burkina Faso Libya Mali Niger |
| Strength | Under 100 (May 2014, French claim)[1] |
| Part of | |
| Merger of |
Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa Al-Mulathameen (The Masked Men Brigade) |
| Allies |
 Ansar Dine Ansaru |
| Battles and wars |
Northern Mali conflict March 2015 Bamako shooting 2015 Bamako hotel attack 2016 Ouagadougou attacks |
Al-Mourabitoun (Arabic: المرابطون, translit. al-Murābiṭūn, lit. "The Sentinels") is an African militant jihadist organisation formed by a merger between Ahmed Ould Amer, a.k.a. Ahmed al-Tilemsi's Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa and Mokhtar Belmokhtar's Masked Men Brigade.[3] It is a branch of the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) organisation.[4]
Origins and membership
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]
However, the group's establishment was announced by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the group's leader who was said to be an Algerian veteran of the anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan and the 2002 battles against American forces in the same country,[5] 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.[5] It has been designated as a terrorist organization by the UN,[6] Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.
History
On 14 May 2015, Adnan Abu Walid Sahraoui released an audio message pledging the group's allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).[7] Belmokhtar issued a statement several days later rejecting this pledge and stating that it had not been approved beforehand, seeming to indicate a split in the group.[8][9] On 3 December 2015, AQIM leader Abdelmalek Droukdel announced in an audio statement that Al-Mourabitoun had merged back into his organisation.[4]
Timeline of attacks
- 10 August 2015: An IED killed three Malian soldiers and injured four others near Sévaré.
- 11 August 2015: A coordinated assault against the Byblos hotel in Sévaré lead to a 24 hour-long stand-off in which 13 people were killed, including five UN workers, four soldiers, and four attackers. The group later claimed responsibility for this attack and the bombing on the day before.[10]
- 7 March 2015: A masked gunman killed 5 and injured 9 others at a restaurant popular with foreigners in Mali's capital Bamako. Among the victims were three locals, a Frenchman, and a Belgian security officer with the European Union representative in the city.
- 20 November 2015: A group of militants took more than 170 people hostage at the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, sparking a siege that left 22 people dead, including 2 gunmen. At least 7 others were injured in the attack, with 2 of them being members of the Malian Special Forces.[11]
- 15 January 2016: A group of militants staged a co-ordinated assault on two hotels and adjacent businesses in the center of Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou, burning vehicles and taking more than 200 hostages. At least 30 people were killed and 56 others injured in the siege that followed.[12]
- February 2016: The group released an audio message, in which it admitted it had kidnapped an Australian couple during the Ouagadougou attacks, and that it planned to release woman as it does "not target women in times of war."[13]
- February 7 2016: The group released the wife of the doctor that kidnapped during Ouagadougou attacks, as they told in an audio message before.[14]
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Mali: qui sont les nouveaux chefs des katibas jihadistes?". Radio France Internationale. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
- ↑ "Mokhtar Belmokhtar now leads ‘Al Qaeda in West Africa’". The Long War Journal. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
- ↑ "Belmokhtar's militants 'merge' with Mali's Mujao". BBC. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
- 1 2 "Mali extremists join with al-Qaida-linked North Africa group". Associated Press. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
- 1 2 "Al-Murabitun: North Africa’s Jihadists Reach into History in Their Battle against European "Crusaders"". Jamestown Foundation. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "Belmokhtar's jihadist group in N.Africa vows allegiance to IS". Yahoo. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ↑ "Confusion surrounds West African jihadists’ loyalty to Islamic State". The Long War Journal. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
- ↑ "Sahara Islamist leader Belmokhtar dismisses Islamic State pledge: report". Yahoo. Reuters. 17 May 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
- ↑ "Mali hotel attack claimed by fighters linked to Belmokhtar". Yahoo News. 11 August 2015.
- ↑ "'No more hostages' as Mali hotel stormed". Al-Jazeera. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ↑ "Gunmen Attack Hotel in Burkina Faso’s Capital". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
- ↑ http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/05/world/burkina-faso-australians-kidnapping-claim/index.html
- ↑ Al-Qaeda in West Africa releases the wife of the doctor kidnapped in Ouagadougou