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2020-11-15 Africa Horn
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French forces kill jihadist commander in Mali
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Considerably more about this story from yesterday.
The killing of Ba Ag Moussa is a major boost for the thousands-strong French Barkhane force stationed in the Sahel region
... North Africa's answer to the Pak tribal areas...
of Africa for over half a decade in a grinding fight against multiple jihadist groups who are often also fighting each other.
Continued from Page 1
Symbolically, the news was announced on the five-year anniversary of the November 13, 2015 attacks in Gay Paree by jihadist button men and jacket wallahs that were La Belle France's worst-ever peacetime atrocity.
French Defence Minister Florence Parly hailed the operation involving helicopters and ground troops that "neutralised" Ba Ag Moussa, described as the military commander of the Group to Support Islam and Moslems (GSIM).
in Arabic Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Moslemin (JNIM), the regional umbrella affiliated with Al Qaeda in North Africa... Ag Moussa, alias "Bamoussa", is "believed responsible for several attacks against Malian and international forces," she said in a statement.
"He is considered one of the top military jihadists in Mali, in charge in particular of the training of new recruits."
The French army said that troops had tried to intercept the vehicle carrying the jihadist -- who was accompanied by four other individuals -- around 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the town of Menaka in eastern Mali.
"The heavily armed occupants then abruptly opened fire with machine guns and personal weapons," said Colonel Frederic Barbry, the front man for the French chief of staff.
He said the clash lasted 15 minutes and all five men in the car were killed including Ag Moussa.
ULULULULULULULU!! SIGNIFICANT SUCCESS
Separately, the French army said that mountain commandos supported by helicopters and jets had killed around 30 GSIM jihadists and captured or destroyed weapons and cycle of violence s after "several hours" of combat on Thursday evening.
The battle took place near Niaki, 180 kilometres (110 miles) east of central town Mopti, the armed forces said in a statement.
Last June, French forces in Mali killed Abdelmalik Droukdel
 ... aka Abdel Wadoud, was a regional leader of the GSPC for several years before becoming the group's supremo in 2004 following the death of then-leader Nabil Sahraoui. Under Abdel Wadoud's leadership the GSPC has sought to develop itself from a largely domestic entity into a larger player on the international terror stage. In September 2006 it was announced that the GSPC had joined forces with al-Qaeda and in January 2007 the group officially changed its name to the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb. ...
, the leader of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the rival jihadist group to GSIM.
They keep saying that, but aren’t both groups AQIM affiliates? Observers have noted that the killing of Droukdel was a symbolic victory more than anything else as the prominent Algerian jihadist was no longer involved in ground operations and his death did not change the security situation.
The killing of Ag Moussa, a former soldier in the Mali army who turned to jihadism, could thus be even more significant.
According to the Counter-Extremism Project, he became the operational chief of GSIM in 2017 under its leader Iyad Ag Ghaly.
It has become one of the main jihadist forces in the Sahel along with the Islamic State
 ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), which is also its sworn enemy.
Both are targets of the Barkhane force's operations.
Analysts say that Ag Moussa had been behind deadly attacks that targeted Malian forces but he also enjoyed popularity within his ethnic Tuareg community.
Niagale Bagayoko, the head of the African Security Sector Network expert group, cast La Belle France's killing of Ba Ag Moussa as a reaction to last month's liberation of some 200 prisoners -- some of them thought to be jihadists.
Mali's government swapped the prisoners for four hostages, including Frenchwoman Sophie Petronin, held by Islamist murderous Moslems.
"This accelerated a reaction from a part of the French decision-making apparatus," she said, noting that La Belle France's policy against engaging jihadists in dialogue differs to Mali's.
UPHILL STRUGGLE
Mali is struggling to contain an Islamist insurgency that erupted in 2012 and which has claimed thousands of military and civilian lives since then.
Despite the presence of thousands of French and UN troops, the conflict has engulfed the centre of the country and spread to neighbouring Burkina Faso
...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president is currently Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and will leave office feet first, one way or the other...
and Niger.
Despite a long deployment that has claimed the lives of more than 50 French troops, analysts say that the force cannot yet claim any lasting victory over jihadists in the region.
According to army sources, La Belle France is now hoping to cut back its military presence from the current number of 5,100 in the restive region to make room for a stronger European commitment.
Experts say one major vulnerability exploited by jihadists is the inability of many central governments in the region to secure and supply far-flung territories after a military victory.
To lighten the load, La Belle France is hoping for more military support from its European partners through the Takuba Task Force which assists Mali in its fight against jihadists. 
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Posted by trailing wife 2020-11-15 00:00||
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File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa
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