Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa
Monotheism and Jihad Movement in West Africa | |
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جماعة التوحيد والجهاد في غرب أفريقيا Jamāʿat at-tawḥīd wal-jihād fī gharb ʾafrīqqīyā | |
Leaders | Northern Mali conflict
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The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (
Its operations were largely limited to southern Algeria and northern Mali. The group continued to be affiliated with AQIM and was sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council in 2012.
One faction of the group merged with
History
The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) broke with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in mid-2011 with the alleged goal of spreading jihad further into areas of West Africa that were not within the scope of AQIM. Some analysts believe that the split of the Black African-led MOJWA is a consequence of the Algerian predominance on AQIM's leadership.[6]
MOJWA released a video that referenced their ideological affinity for such figures as Al-Qaeda founder
Following the
In the January 2013 Battle of Konna, MOJWA temporarily gained control of Konna before being forced to retreat by the Malian army and its allied French armed forces.
In August 2013, a faction of the group led by
Leadership
Mauritanian
Incidents
The first appearance of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa was on 22 October 2011, when the group kidnapped three
After warning that it would attack French targets for their role in attacking northern Mali, MOJWA were suspected of carrying out two car bombings in Niger on 23 May 2013.[17] In March 2014, Malian military sources reported that Omar Ould Hamaha and Abu Walid Sahraoui had been killed by a French air strike in the northeast.[14] Reports of Sahraoui's death were later proven false.[18]
The Niger government accused MOJWA of the kidnapping of American aid worker Jeffery Woodke on 12 Oct 2016. Gunmen killed the two security guards at Woodke's house, captured Woodke and reportedly took him across the Mali border towards Menaka.[19]
Capture and seizure of Gao
During the
After Algeria arrested three
Algeria's Foreign Ministry released a statement that read: "The statement announcing the execution of the Algerian vice-consular official can only fuel surprise and justify the steps taken to try to confirm the accuracy of the information sent out on late Saturday." At the same time, Algeria's policy of not negotiating or releasing convicted terrorists from prisons was seen by El Watan as an hindrance to the release of the other hostages.[28] Another diplomat, Boualem Sayes, later died in captivity from a chronic illness. The surviving diplomats were released on 31 August 2014.[29]
On 27 June 2012, MOJWA fighters clashed with the forces of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad. MOJWA took control of the governor's palace and MNLA Secretary General Bilal Ag Acherif's residence, as well as taking 40 MNLA soldiers prisoner. Ag Acherif was wounded in the fighting and was evacuated to Burkina Faso for medical treatment.[30] MOJWA's fighters patrolled the city's streets through the night and arrested at least three people carrying guns.[31]
On 1 September 2012, MOJWA took over the northern town of
The United States listed it a terror group on 7 December 2012 and the United Nations two days earlier.[34][35] On 2 June 2014 the government of Canada listed it as a terrorist group.[36]
References
- ^ "Radical Islamist group threatens France". News24 (AFP). 3 January 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ^ "Report: Islamist militants claim 2 deadly attacks in Niger". CNN. 23 May 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ^ a b "AFP: Al-Qaeda offshoot claims Algeria attack". Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ^ a b "Belmokhtar's militants 'merge' with Mali's Mujao". BBC. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
- ^ a b "Jihadists in Mali step up attacks, kill 7 soldiers". Long War Journal. 5 January 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ^ "Mali's irrevocable crisis". Al Jazeera. 16 April 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- ^ "New Qaeda spin-off threatens West Africa". Al-Ahram (AFP). 22 December 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
- ^ "Al-Qaeda offshoot claims Algeria attack". Al Jazeera. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ "Al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb issues Mali warning". Hindustan Times. Agence France-Presse. 1 July 2012. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- ^ "Resolution 2085 (2012)". UN Security Council. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
- ^ "Terrorists, traffickers forge union in African desert". Maghaberia. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
- ^ "Al-Qaeda splinter group reveals internal erosion". Maghaberia. 30 December 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
- ^ Thiolay, Boris (3–9 October 2012), "Le djihad du "Barbu rouge"", L'Express (in French), pp. 40–41
- ^ a b Diallo, Tiemoko (14 March 2014), "French air strikes kill wanted Islamist militant 'Red Beard' in Mali", Reuters, retrieved 15 March 2014
- ^ "AFP: Islamists want 30 mln euros to free Western hostages: source". TimesLIVE. South Africa. 3 March 2012. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ "Mali Islamists release Spanish, Italian hostages". Al Arabiya. 18 July 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ "Armed group claims Niger suicide attacks". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- ^ "Militant Group Says It Has Romanian Hostage". The New York Times. 19 May 2015.
- ^ ""Niger : ce que l'on sait de Jeffery Woodke, l'Américain enlevé dans le centre du pays"". Le Monde. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
- ^ "Rebels seize Timbuktu as junta promises poll". The Sydney Morning Herald. 4 March 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ^ "Un groupe dissident d'AQMI revendique le rapt" (in French). El Watan. 9 April 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
- ^ "Orphans of the Sahara, part two, from minute 12:30". Al Jazeera. 17 January 2014.
- Echorouk. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
- ^ "AFP: Mali Islamists 'free three Algerian hostages'". 12 July 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
- ^ "Islamist rebels in Mali claim execution of kidnapped Algerian diplomat". Middle East Online. 2 September 2012. Archived from the original on 20 August 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
- ^ "AFP: Mali Islamists say Algerian diplomat executed". 2 September 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
- ^ AFP (1 September 2012). "Mali Islamists say Algerian diplomat executed". AFP. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
- ^ Yasmine Ryan (3 September 2012). "Algeria baffled by reported diplomat murder". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
- ^ "Algerian diplomats freed after two years' captivity in Mali". Yahoo News. 30 August 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- ^ Serge Daniel (27 June 2012). "Islamists seize north Mali town, at least 21 dead in clashes". Agence France-Presse. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- ^ "Tuareg rebels driven out of Timbuktu". Al Jazeera. 29 June 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ a b "Islamist rebels gain ground in Mali, seize control of Douentza, ousting former allied militia". The Washington Post. 1 September 2012. Archived from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
- ^ "Mali Islamists take strategic town of Douentza". BBC News. 1 September 2012. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
- ^ "Terrorist Designations of the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, Hamad el Khairy, and Ahmed el Tilemsi". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- ^ "The Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee". United Nations. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013.
- ^ "About the listing process". Retrieved 20 May 2015.