Iyad Ag Ghaly, leader of Ansar Dine
Iyad Ag Ghaly, the Malian Tuareg leader
of Ansar Dine, has resurfaced with the release of an audio statement in
which he threatens France and rejects any peace deal in Mali. The audio
was published by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which has close
ties to Ansar Dine, on one of its official Twitter feeds.
The statement, which has been translated by
the SITE Intelligence Group, begins by saying Ansar Dine is “combating a
new horn from the horns of global disbelief, after the American horn
was smashed on the firm rock of jihad. This horn is a result of the
French Crusader campaign that brought all its knights and horses, and
its slaves and its insane ones against the Shariah of Islam in this
land.” He then says that his fighters are fighting to “push away the
aggression of the French Crusader assailant.”
Ghaly further claims that the French are
“oppressing” the people of Mali and Azawad, the Tuareg name for northern
Mali. “Under the domination of the French Crusader invasion, where
sanctities are violated, holy sites defiled, fear and horror spread, and
the crimes of stealing and looting prevail. It is contrary to what
France claimed and continues to claim, and before it, its sister in evil
America, in claiming security and stability, and development and
construction.” Ghaly then mentions the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris earlier this year, saying, “The case of Charlie Hebdo
and its satirical cartoons offensive to the Prophet, Allah’s peace and
blessings be upon him, is but a part of that [hatred of Muslims].”
As a result of the “domination” of Muslims
by France, Ghaly calls on all people in Mali to “reject the
manifestations of fragmentation and division, and disavow the fight of
ignorance and its blind banners.” In an obvious reference to the many
Tuareg militia groups in northern Mali, he urges “all these movements
and names, with their different banners and purposes” to repent and join
in the jihad against the French. In addition, Ghaly issues a general
call to jihad to the French people, telling would-be recruits, “may your
explosive belts respond to them, and your directed devices, and your
loud car bombs.” He ends his statement by saying that the Muslims must
expel the “Crusaders” to “take revenge for honor of our noble Prophet.”
In discussing the peace agreement signed
between rival Tuareg groups and Mali in Algeria in May, Ghaly chastises
the Tuaregs for “diverting from the road of Tawhid [monotheism].” He
goes on to say that while the deal was meant to bring peace, it “smells
of apostasy and disbelief, and treason and cunning.”
Ghaly also sends his “distinguished
greetings” to the mujahideen in “Sikasso, Macina, Sevare, Giwanzer,
Timbuktu, Kidal, and others from the frontlines of jihad and martyrdom.”
Sikasso and Macina, which are in southern Mali, were the scenes of two
attacks conducted by Ansar Dine earlier this year. The attacks in
southern and central Mali undertaken by the jihadist group were likely
executed by its Fulani front, the Macina Liberation Movement. The
mention of Sevare is a reference to the hotel siege perpetrated by the jihadist group Al Murabitoon, which is openly loyal to al Qaeda, in early August.
Ghaly is not the only jihadist to have
threatened Western forces in Mali this year. A fighter from
the aforementioned Al Murabitoon threatened French and Dutch forces in
Mali, espousing the same rhetoric as Ghaly. “The time has come to battle
the French and the Dutch, to retaliate for your Prophet,” said an
Egyptian jihadist affiliated with the group. [For more information, see Threat Matrix report, “Al Murabitoon threatens French, Dutch forces in Mali in new audio.]
Background on Iyad Ag Ghaly and Ansar Dine
Ghaly has had a long history of rebellion
in Mali. Before being radicalized, he led a Tuareg rebellion against the
government in 1990. In late 2011, Ghaly formed the jihadist group Ansar
Dine. During the Tuareg rebellion in 2012, Ansar Dine worked alongside
AQIM, the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), and
Tuareg groups to take over the country’s north. The three jihadist
groups then quickly pushed the Tuaregs out of the areas that they
controlled.
AQIM views Ansar Dine as its local arm in Mali; in a “confidential letter” from Abdelmalek Droukdel,
the emir of AQIM, that was found in Timbuktu in early 2013, he
instructed his followers to mask their operations and “pretend to be a
‘domestic’ movement” under Ansar Dine so as not to draw international
attention and intervention. However, the jihadists’ heavy-handed tactics
and violence prompted the French to intervene to help the Malian
government take back the north.
Soon after its successful offensive in the north, Ghaly was reportedly seen meeting in Timbuktu
with senior AQIM leaders Abu Zeid (who was killed in 2013) and Yahya
Abu al Hammam. Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a veteran al Qaeda commander who now
leads Al Murabitoon, was also present during the meeting. [For more
information on Ghaly, see LWJ report, Ansar Dine leader resurfaces, urges expulsion of France from Mali.]
On Feb. 26, 2013, both the United States
and the United Nations added Ghaly to their lists of Specially
Designated Global Terrorists. The State Departmented noted that
he “cooperates closely with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.” [See LWJ report, Emir of Ansar Dine added to US, UN’s terrorist lists.] Ansar Dine itself was identified as a terrorist organization by the US and the UN in March 2013.
Despite the French intervention and the
current French-led counterterrorism mission in the region, al Qaeda and
its many affiliates in Mali continue to operate. These groups retain the
ability to mount rocket, mortar, and IED attacks on UN and French
forces. Over 50 UN peacekeepers have been killed in Mali since 2013,
making it the most dangerous UN mission in the world.
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