Mali

Chadin armeijan sotilaat tappoivat al-Queda komentajan.

Abou Zeid - top al-Qaeda commander - 'killed in Mali'
Chadian President Idriss Deby said the country's forces killed Abdelhamid Abou Zeid during clashes in the remote region, according to Reuters.

Algerian security services are said to have taken DNA samples from two of Abou Zeid's relatives to compare with the body which is reportedly his.

He is said to be second-in-command of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which is fighting foreign forces in Mali.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21637829
 
Aika hyvin on noita Chadin ja Malin joukkoja tippunut matsissa, Chadin johtaessa tilastoja sadoilla uhreilla joko kuolleina taikka haavoittuinena.
 
[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QiN1WPLNloY[/video]
 
Foreign Legion Paratroopers (2nd REP - 3rd Company) are boarding a Danish C-130J to fly in Battle at Ametettai valley near Tessalit.

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yle uutiset Ulkomaat 6.3.2013 klo 18:30
Ranska vähentää Mali-joukkojaan

EU on lähettämässä kaikkiaan 500 sotilasta kouluttamaan malilaisia joukkoja.

Ranska alkaa vähentää joukkojaan Malissa huhtikuussa, kertoo maan presidentti Francois Hollande.

Hollanden mukaan Ranskan väliintulon viimeinen vaihe Malissa kestää huhtikuuhun, minkä jälkeen sotilaiden määrää vähennetään samalla, kun afrikkalaiset joukot ottavat päävastuun taisteluista.

Heitä tukemaan on tulossa eurooppalaisia sotilaita.

Presidentin mukaan terroristien pääpesäkkeet Malin vuoristoseudulla on tuhottu.

Malissa puhkesi sisällissota viime keväänä, kun islamistit alkoivat pystyttää maan pohjoisosaan ääri-islamilaista hallintoa, jonka aluetta laajennettiin voimatoimin.

Ranska lähetti Maliin joukkojaan, joiden avulla islamistit on lyöty. Koko Malin alue syrjäisimpiä aavikkoseutuja lukuunottamatta on hallituksen valvonnassa.

Lähteet:
AFP
 
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has suggested the creation of a peacekeeping force in Mali that would include West African troops already operating in the country. He also said that a “parallel force” must be built to confront Islamist threats.

"Given the anticipated level and nature of the residual threat, there would be a fundamental requirement for a parallel force to operate in Mali alongside the UN mission in order to conduct major combat and counter-terrorism operations," Ban wrote in his report on Mali.

Such a force could be built on the French troops already active in Mali, some diplomats say.

Once the African nations’ soldiers become a UN peacekeeping force, most of their troops and police would operate in northern Mali, while there would be a "light presence" based in the country's capital, Bamako, Ban suggested.

"The force would operate under robust rules of engagement, with a mandate to use all necessary means to address threats to the implementation of its mandate, which would include protection of civilians," he said.

The parallel force proposed by Ban Ki-moon would specifically target Islamist extremists, and could be based in Mali or elsewhere in West Africa. Diplomats expressed hope that the UN Security Council will vote on the peacekeeping proposal in mid-April.

France launched its military intervention in Mali in January to combat Islamist groups that had taken over the north of the country a year ago. The French army succeeded in driving the Islamists out Mali’s main northern cities and into desert and mountain hideouts. Still, Ban's report said Mali suffered from a "crisis of governance" marked by "endemic corruption," and a lack of state authority.

The 11,200 African troops converted into peacekeepers could only cover the main towns "assessed to be at highest risk," Ban explained. The bulk of the contingent would come from a West African force known as AFISMA (African-led International Support Mission to Mali), comprised of armed forces from many African nations and already operational in Mali.

France said it would start withdrawing 4,000 of its troops in late April as part of a handover to the UN-backed African force. French President Francois Hollande has repeatedly vowed that the troops will remain in the region only until a legitimate government can take over.

The Mali intervention has cost France more than 100 million euros so far.
http://rt.com/news/un-peacekeeping-force-mali-921/
 
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http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?224831-Today-s-Photos-Thursday-March-28th-2013&p=6640798&viewfull=1#post6640798
 
yle uutiset Ulkomaat 11.4.2013 klo 19:41
Mali ei halua ranskalaisten joukkojen lähtevän

Koko Mali on teille ikuisesti kiitollinen, totesi pääministeri Diango Cissoko.

Malin pääministeri Diango Cissoko on vedonnut Ranskan hallitukseen, että ranskalaisjoukot pysyisivät Malissa. Ranskan piti alkaa vetää joukkojaan entisestä siirtomaasta huhtikuussa, mutta aikataulua on nopeutettu. Samalla afrikkalaisten joukkojen on tarkoitus ottaa päävastuu taisteluissa islamisteja vastaan.

Pääministeri myös kiitteli tammikuussa Maliin saapuneiden ranskalaisjoukkojen tukea.

- Koko Mali on ikuisesti kiitollinen, Cissoko sanoi puhuessaan sotilaille ja paikallisille maan pohjoisosissa sijaitsevassa Gaon kaupungissa.

Malissa puhkesi sisällissota viime keväänä, kun islamistit alkoivat pystyttää maan pohjoisosaan ääri-islamilaista hallintoa, jonka aluetta laajennettiin voimatoimin.

Ranska lähetti tammikuussa Maliin joukkojaan, joiden avulla islamistit on lyöty. Tällä hetkellä Malin alue syrjäisimpiä aavikkoseutuja lukuun ottamatta on hallituksen valvonnassa.

Malissa on noin 4 000 ranskalaissotilasta, josta puolet kutsutaan kotiin ennen kesää. Maliin jää näillä näkymin noin 1 000 ranskalaissotilasta YK-mandaatilla toimivan 11 000 sotilaan armeijan tueksi.

Myös Suomi osallistuu EU:n sotilasoperaatioon Malissa, jonka tehtävänä on kouluttaa ja neuvoa Malin asevoimia. Suomesta Maliin lähtee enintään 12 sotilasta.

Lähteet:
AP, AFP, Yle Uutiset
 
http://www.vice.com/ground-zero/mali-under-sharia-law
When the jihadist group MUJAO took control of northern Mali's city of Gao from Tuareg rebels last September, many locals welcomed the return of law and order. But the security MUJAO offered came at a price: a harsh interpretation of Islamic law that saw public beatings, whippings, and even amputations in the city's main square.
 
yle uutiset Ulkomaat 6.6.2013 klo 0:27
Malin armeija sai ensimmäisen voittonsa ilman Ranskan joukkoja

Ranskan joukot karkottivat islamistit, mutta itsenäisyyttä vaativien tuaregien ja hallituksen konflikti kytee yhä. Taistelut voivat viivästyttää heinäkuulle suunniteltuja presidentinvaaleja, joilla maa halutaan yhdistää uudelleen.

Malin armeija on hyökännyt maan pohjoisosan tuaregikapinallisten tukikohtiin. Hyökkäys päätti armeijan ja tuaregien välillä vallinneen epävirallisen tulitauon, joka on kestänyt kuukausia.

Armeijan joukot pakottivat tuaregikapinalliset vetäytymään Anefiksen kylästä. Voitto oli ensimmäinen, jonka armeija saavutti ilman ranskalaisjoukkojen tukea. Armeija jatkaa kohti maan koillisosassa sijaitsevaa Kidalia, joka on kapinallisten tärkein tukikohta.

Tuaregien ja hallituksen joukkojen välille uudelleen leimahtanut konflikti uhkaa heinäkuun lopulle kaavailtuja presidentinvaaleja.

Malin armeija on lähestynyt Kidalia viikkojen ajan. Kapinalliset ovat vahvistaneet linnoituksiaan ja luvanneet käydä avoimeen sotaan, mikäli armeija hyökkää. Ranskan päätös olla puuttumatta taisteluihin on kiristänyt Ranskan ja Malin hallituksen välejä.

Tuaregikapinalliset ovat pitäneet Malin pohjoisosaa hallussaan sen jälkeen, kun Ranskan joukot ajoivat islamistikapinalliset alueelta. Alun perin islamistikapinalliset ja tuaregit toimivat yhteistyössä, mutta paremmin aseistetut islamistit syrjäyttivät tuaregit ja miehittivät aluetta kymmenen kuukautta.

Lähteet:
AFP, AP, Reuters
 
Mali, Africa's third-largest gold producer, expects to double gold output over the next five years to 100 tonnes, hoping for a boost as projects being explored and developed begin to pour bullion, its mines minister said on Thursday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/06/mali-gold-idUSL5N0EI30J20130606?type=companyNews&feedType=RSS&feedName=companyNews&rpc=43
 
yle 2.11.2013 klo 5:09
Hollanti lähettää 380 sotilasta Maliin
Sotilaiden mukana lähtee neljä huippuluokan Apache-helikopteria.
Alankomaat lähettää 380 sotilasta YK-rauhanturvaajiksi Maliin.

- Alankomaat on päättänyt vastata YK:n pyyntöön, maan pääministeri Mark Rutte kertoi perjantaina.

Rutten mukaan Malista uhkaa tulla maa, jossa terroristeja voidaan vapaasti kouluttaa.

YK pyysi maahan lisää rauhanturvaajia, kun siellä olevat joukot joutuivat yhä useampien islamistihyökkäysten kohteiksi. Useat maat ovat vähentäneet joukkojaan Malissa. Malin rauhanturvaoperaation tavoitteena on saada maahan yli 12 000 rauhanturvaajaa, mutta tällä hetkellä rauhanturvaajia on maassa vain noin 6000.

Hollannin ulkoministeriön kertoo, että uusien rauhanturvaajien tehtäviin kuuluu lähinnä tiedustelua ja paikallisten poliisijoukkojen koulutusta. Mukaan lähtee 4 huippuluokan helikopteria, joita on määrä hyödyntää sekä tiedustelutehtävissä että sotilaiden turvaamisessa.

Hollannin lähettämien joukkojen on tarkoitus pysyä Malissa vuoteen 2015 asti, jolloin YK:n rauhanturvaoperaatio päättyy.

Lähteet:
AFP
 
Al Qaeda group releases photo of Mali hotel gunmen

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Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’s (AQIM) media outlet, Ifriqiyah Muslimah, has released a photograph of the gunmen who carried out the attack on the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali’s capital of Bamako earlier this month.


The two gunmen, identified as Abdul Karim and Muaz al Fulani, stormed the Radisson Blue in Bamako, killing 22 civilians and taking more than 100 people hostage before being killed in a joint raid led by Malian forces. The Al Murabitoon
said it was responsible in conjunction with the “Sahara Emirate” of AQIM, according to a statement sent to Al Jazeera. Another jihadist group, the Macina Liberation Movement, a front of the al Qaeda group Ansar Dine, which is itself a front of AQIM, also claimed the attack. However, this photo released by AQIM provides more confirmation of the group’s claim.


The attack in Bamako heralded the reintigration of Al Murabitoon into AQIM. On Dec. 4, AQIM’s Al Andalus Media
released an audio statement from Abdelmalek Droukdel, the emir of AQIM, announcing the merger of Al Murabitoon into its ranks. The same statement also said that the Bamako attack was the first joint assault carried out by the two.


Al Murabitoon is led by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a veteran African jihadist who is
openly loyal to Ayman al Zawahiri and has denounced the Islamic State. Belmokhtar was originally a commander in AQIM before splitting with the group over personal disagreements with Droukdel and other leaders. Belmokhtar and his followers have been behind several spectacular attacks in West Africa over the past several years, including the January 2013 suicide assault on the In Amenas gas facility in southeastern Algeria, and the May 2013 suicide assaults in Niger that targeted a military barracks and a uranium mine.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archi...group-releases-photo-of-mali-hotel-gunmen.php
 
French special forces target Al Murabitoon in northern Mali

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Photo released by Al Murabitoon and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb showing “one brigade of Katibat al Murabitoon.”

French special forces, as part of the counterterrorism mission Operation Barkhane, conducted a raid in northern Mali over the weekend targeting the jihadist group Al Murabitoon. According to the French Ministry of Defence, the raid “neutralized 10 terrorists,” with “neutralized” usually serving as a euphemism for killed.

The statement read, “On the night of 19 to 20th December, French forces conducted an operation in the region of Menaka in Mali against affiliated elements of the terrorist group Al Murabitoon.” It goes on to explain that the jihadist group is “responsible for a number of attacks against the Malian and Nigerien populations, local armed forces, and international forces.” The Ministry of Defense said when fighting ended, after nearly four hours, “two pickups and a dozen motorcycles were seized” along with “a significant amount of arms and explosives.”

Earlier this year, French special forces also killed two Al Qaeda leaders in northern Mali, although the French military did not say where.

The town of Menaka, which is in the Gao Region, has long been within Al Murabitoon’s area of operations. In 2012, the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), one of Al Murabitoon’s constituent groups, took over the town of Gao before being kicked out in the 2013 French intervention. In April, Al Murabitoon launched a suicide assault on the nearby town of Ansongo, killing three civilians and wounding 16 others including nine Nigerien peacekeepers.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archi...alSiteWide+(The+Long+War+Journal+(Site-Wide))
 
Al Qaeda group strikes in northern Mali

Kartta linkissä

Ansar Dine, a jihadist group which operates in Mali and is a front for Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), claimed responsibility for three attacks in northern Mali over the past few days. The attacks were claimed by AQIM on behalf of Ansar Dine.

In a statement released online by AQIM yesterday, the Al Qaeda branch claimed Ansar Dine targeted a military barracks “of the agents of France” on Dec. 24 in the remote northern village of Talhandak, according to the SITE Intelligence Group. The jihadist group said it targeted a “local agent of the Crusaders known as Trawa Trawa,” who heads the so-called “internal security cells” funded by France in northern Mali to fight Islam and the Muslims.” AQIM also said the jihadists were able to free 11 of its prisoners held by “Trawa Trawa.” It is unclear who this “agent” is, but the town of Talhandak was controlled by the Tuareg separatist movement the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA).

According to Sahara Media, Ansar Dine was able to take control of Talhandak in the assault. In coordination with the larger attack in Talhandak, AQIM also claimed Ansar Dine ambushed a convoy of MNLA troops near Kidal. The MNLA forces were reportedly on their way to Talhandak to provide reinforcements to the besieged forces there. The ambush resulted “in the elimination of four agents, including the commander of the movement,” said AQIM.

However, before these assaults, AQIM reports that Ansar Dine targeted Chadian and French military vehicles with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) near Tessalit. The jihadist say the blasts “destroyed them completely,” however neither the UN nor France has released a statement confirming this attack.

Part of the statement is also directed to the MNLA. “You know very well that the Crusaders and with them their puppet regimes, strive by all means to involve you to fight a proxy war against your oppressed people,” AQIM says, “So why do you insist on widowing your wives and orphaning your children in defense of the Crusaders, who killed and displaced our people in the past and present?” AQIM then calls on the MNLA to stop assisting the “Crusaders” and warns those who refuse that “our swords will reach everyone who is lured by himself to join the ranks of the Crusaders in the war on Islam and its people.”

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/12/al-qaeda-group-strikes-in-northern-mali.php
 
Viimeksi muokattu:
Malian military base targeted in southern Mali

In an attack on a Malian military base in southern Mali, militants left at least 17 soldiers dead and wounded over 30 in an offensive claimed by two different groups. Many weapons and vehicles were also stolen during the assault.

Yesterday, a coordinated attack was launched on the Malian military base in Nampala near the borders with Mauritania in southern Mali. The base was assaulted from multiple directions, according to Malian officials. Additionally, a secondary ambush targeted Malian troops trying to withdraw to the nearby town of Diabaly. The base briefly fell to the attackers, but was quickly regained by the Malian military.

Responsibility for the attack has already been claimed by two different groups. The first group to declare their involvement was the National Alliance for the Protection of the Peul Identity and the Restoration of Justice (ANSIPRJ), which is an ethnic Fulani (also known as Peul) militia that formed just last month. The jihadist group Ansar Dine, which is part of al Qaeda’s international network, has also released a statement claiming its Katibat Macina was responsible for the assault. In its statement, Ansar Dine said its forces withdrew from the base after capturing several weapons and vehicles.

The jihadists likely withdrew to the Wagadou Forest, which straddles the border region between Mali and Mauritania. The Wagadou Forest has been a historical stronghold and base of operations for al Qaeda in Mali. The forest was said to have been largely cleared of al Qaeda bases in 2011 when Malian and Mauritanian forces targeted the jihadist group there. However, Malian officials have noted increased activity in the forest by jihadists in recent years.

In addition to the ANSIPRJ and Ansar Dine, Malian officials have stated that al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) also took part in the assault on the base. Reuters has reported that a Malian military spokesman said that “Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb attacked from the north, the Macina Liberation Front [another name for Katibat Macina] linked to Ansar Dine waited outside the town to ambush military reinforcements and an ethnic Peul group attacked from the southeast.”

This level of cooperation has not been confirmed, but is a likely scenario given how coordinated the assault was. The current realities of ANSIPRJ, especially with how new the group is, makes coordination with larger, more capable forces more plausible. Ansar Dine’s Katibat Macina is an ethnic Fulani group, just like ANSIPRJ, which could also help in coordination. AQIM also claimed last year’s assault on the military base in Nampala, which killed seven troops, and is still known to operate near the borders with Mauritania.

Al Qaeda’s involvement in the assault, if confirmed, means there has been at least 130 al Qaeda-linked attacks in Mali and the wider West Africa region in 2016. Since 2014, there has been over 270 al Qaeda-linked attacks in the region with most occurring in northern Mali.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2016/07/military-base-targeted-in-southern-mali.php
 
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