AQIM Confirms Death of Abou Zeid

In a statement that was published on Sunday, Al-Qaeda’s north African branch has confirmed that one of its top leaders, Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, was killed in fighting in Mali.  The confirmation from the terrorist group comes three months after officials in Chad and France announced the leaders’ death.

Algerian-born Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, considered to have been one of the most radical leaders of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), was killed “on the battlefield defending Umma (the Muslim community) and Sharia law.”  This is according to a statement that was released on Sunday and carried by ANI, which is a private Mauritanian news agency.  According to ANI director Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Abou Al-Maali, “it is the first time that an AQIM statement officially referred to the death of Abou Zeid.”  The statement however provided no date for his death.  Back in March, officials in Paris had announced that Abou Zeid was killed after France led an offensive to remove al-Qaeda-linked groups from the northern regions of Mali.  Both France and Chad have indicated that the 46-year-old militant was killed at the end of February.

Born in Debdeb, Algeria, which is located close to the border with Libya, Abou Zeid was a young activist in the FIS Islamist movement which won the country’s first democratic elections in 1991 but which was denied power.  He then disappeared underground and remained in silence for most of the 1990’s.  He re-emerged in 2003 as second in command of the GSPC, which kidnapped dozens of foreigners in southern Algeria.  The group, along with several other organizations, would later evolve into AQIM.  According to court documents Abou Zeid, whose real name was Mohamed Ghdir, was considered to be a deputy to AQIM’s “Saharan emir” Yahia Djouadi.  He commanded a battalion of fighters from Algeria, Mauritania and Mali, which was known as Tareq ibn Ziyan, named after an eighth-century Muslim military commander.

Mali

Meanwhile in Mali, a female lawmaker is set to run for President in elections which are due to be held next month.  Aissata Cise Haidara, 54, announced her candidacy on Saturday at a rally which was attended by several thousand supporters, composed mainly of women and young people.  During the rally, she stated that “I am a candidate, not just to make up the numbers but to play a role in the rebuilding of Mali, which has become an unrecognizable country today.”  She further indicated that “we must develop all of Mali although more must be done in the north.  But we have to be careful because if you focus development in the north, the south will itself revolt.”  Ms. Haidara is an MP for Bourem, which is situated in northern Mali.  Amongst other candidates in the running for the presidency are former prime ministers Soumana Sacko and Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

International mediators have so far failed to secure an agreement between Mali’s Interim President and the northern rebels.  Although talks last weekend have brought the two groups closer, an agreement is necessary in order to enable elections to go ahead as planned on 28 July.  The MNLA indicated last week that it was ready to sign an accord proposed by Burkina Faso, which is the regional mediator, however current Mali President Dioncounda Traore has yet to agree.  Consequently the talks are continuing between the two groups.  The coming presidential elections are seen as a key step in the recovery of Mali.