Category Archives: Mali

Two Soldiers Killed In Mali as Suicide Attacks Continue

Over the weekend, officials confirmed that two Malian soldiers were killed and several others were wounded in a suicide attack near Gao, demonstrating that rebel groups in desert hideouts continue to launch isolated attacks against the French and Malian forces.

The latest suicide attack took place in the village of Hamakouladji, located 40 km (25 miles) north of Gao.  The attack occurred when several militants managed to detonate their explosives as a patrol passed through the village.

Two Malian soldiers and at least two Islamist militants were killed in the attack which occurred on Saturday.  According to Colonel Kassim Goita, a senior commander of Malian troops in the northern town of Gao, the attack took place when soldiers followed a suspect on a motorcycle, which parked next to a vehicle which blew up as they approached.  Colonel Goita further indicated that eight soldiers had been wounded and that clashes were ongoing in the area.

Gao was the first major town to be freed from Islamist control.  It is also the hub for both the French and Malian military operations.  However the town has continued to bear a major brunt of the guerrilla-war fought by militants since they scattered into Mali’s desert and mountains.

French Islamist Captured in Mali

A French Islamic convert, who threatened his home country, has been captured in the northern region of Mali after allegedly fighting on the militants’ side.  This report come just one day after a sixth French soldier was killed in Mali.

The French army has confirmed that its troops have captured Gilles Le Guen, who now goes by the name Abdel Jelil, on Sunday night in a region just north of Timbuktu.  According to France’s Defence Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, Mr. Le Guen, aged 58, is
believed to have been living in Timbuktu and appears to have fought alongside the Islamist militants.  Mr. Le Guen, a former merchant seaman, is originally from the city of Nantes in western France.  He converted to Islam in 1985 and lived in Mauritania and Morocco before settling in Mali with his Moroccan wife and family in 2011.  Some reports have suggested that he joined al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) while other reports have indicated that the group held him prisoner for a few days in November of last year.  A month earlier, he had appeared in an Islamist vide, with his face uncovered and a gun by his side, warning France, the US and the UN against intervening in Mali.  A number of security sources have indicated that the case of Mr. Le Guen is unique as he made no attempt to disguise his identity while he was in Mali.  He is said to have lived mostly off wire transfers from Europe and did odd jobs such as repairing broken water pumps and cars.  According to on the ground sources in Timbuktu, when AQIM occupied the town, Mr. Le Guen was assigned to patrol it.  According to Mr. Le Drian, Mr. Guen was captured by French troops who were on patrol at the time.  The detainee will now be handed over to the Malian authorities and “probably expelled to France.”  Mr. Le Drian further added that so far, no charges had been drawn up however an investigation is currently underway.

Meanwhile French officials have confirmed that a French paratrooper has been killed and that two others have been seriously injured in Mali.  France’s defence ministry has indicated that the special forces soldier died in the far northern region of the country after his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb.  Six French soldiers have been killed since France launched an operation in Mali in January in order to drive Islamist rebels from the northern desert region.  The death of this paratrooper comes at a time when France is beginning to withdrawal some of its 4,000 troops.

The French Defence Ministry has indicated that the 32-year-old soldier was killed between Zaouaten and Boughessa, near the border with Algeria.  Two more soldiers were seriously injured in the same attack.  A military spokesman further noted that no militants were found in the area.  In a statement issued by the Presidency, President Francois Hollande extended his condolences to the relatives of the soldier killed, praising what he called the determination and courage of French forces in Mali.

France Confirms Death of Abou Zeid

The French Presidency has confirmed that death of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) commander Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, stating that he was killed in fighting in Mali.  While this confirmation has ended weeks of speculation about whether one of the group’s leading commanders had been killed, it nevertheless increases fears for the lives and safety of the remaining fourteen French hostages who are being held in captivity in the Sahel region.

The death of Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, a senior figure in AQIM, has been confirmed by France, which noted that DNA samples had made it possible to formally identify him.  A statement released by the Elysee Presidential Palace indicated that “the President of the French Republic confirms with certainty the death of Abdelhamid Abou Zeid after an offensive by the French army in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains in the north of Mali, at the end of February.”  The statement went onto say that the death of “one of the main leaders of AQIM marks an important stage in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel region.”

Last month, officials in Chad had claimed that Chadian forces fighting alongside French troops in northern Mali had killed Abou Zeid on 22 February.  Days later, reports surfaced that fellow militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar was also killed in fighting that occurred in the mountainous regions of northern Mali.  The fate of Mokhtar Belmokhtar, who was reportedly killed on 2 March 2013, has yet to be confirmed.  Although AQIM formally acknowledged the death of Abou Zeid, officials in France made little comment regarding his death, stating that while it is “probable” that the commander was killed in fighting, the death would not be confirmed by French officials until a body was produced and verification through DNA testing was completed.  Speculation mounted that France’s reluctance in confirming the death of Abou Zeid was due to fears that the remaining French hostages may be used as human shields during bombing raid, or that they could be subjected to reprisal executions.

Abou Zeid, who is believed to be 47, was a pillar of AQIM.   Considered to be one of the most radical AQIM leaders, he is responsible for the death of at least two European hostages as well as the leader of the extremist takeover of northern Mali in March 2012.  In June 2009, his men kidnapped British tourist Edwin Dyer.  According to a number of eye witness reports, Abou Zeid personally beheaded the British national.

While the death of Abou Zeid was confirmed by members of AQIM weeks ago, France’s official acknowledgement and confirmation may result in militant rebels in Mali carrying out retaliatory hit-and-run attacks in an attempt to place increased pressure on France to withdraw its military intervention.  Likewise, the lives of the French hostages will likely be in jeopardy as they may be executed in retaliation for his death.  Unconfirmed reports released earlier this week indicated that a French hostage had been executed in Mali on 10 March 2013.  A man claiming to be a spokesman for AQIM stated that Philippe Verdon was “killed on 10 March in response to the French military intervention in the north of Mali.”  While there was no mention of his execution being directly linked to the death of Abou Zeid, it is highly likely that today’s confirmation by France may lead to further executions which will undoubtedly be blamed on his death.

First Suicide Bombing in Timbuktu

One Malian solider has died while two others have been left injured in the first suicide bombing to target the city of Timbuktu on the eve of the one year anniversary of a coup that paved the way for the Islamist takeover of Mali and the eventual collapse of one of West Africa’s most stable democracies.

The bombing occurred near the airport in Timbuktu when an attacker set off an explosive belt inside a car that had been stopped at a checkpoint.  According to a military source, “the jihadist who set off his belt was killed instantly and one of the soldiers injured in the explosion died in hospital.”  Malian army spokesman Captain Samba Coulibaly stated that the suicide bombing took place at a road block that is manned by Malian soldiers, just before a French checkpoint.  French military officials also confirmed that at least ten Islamist fighters were killed in clashes that occurred after the bombing while sources in the city have reported that sustained gunfire continued until 3AM (local time) on Thursday morning.  French army spokesman Colonel Thierry Burkhard stated that French and Malian forces had repelled an attempt by militants to infiltrate Timbuktu’s airport on Thursday morning.  He further indicated that there were no French casualties.

Timbuktu was liberated by French and Malian troops in late January 2013 after the city and its resident endured a nine-month rule by al-Qaeda-linked Islamists who had imposed a harsh form of Sharia law on the population.  Since then, the town has seen relative clam, unlike the northern city of Gao which has been hit by a number of suicide bombings and guerrilla attacks since the Islamist rebels were driven out.

This most recent suicide bombing has further cast a doubt over France’s claims that the Islamist resistance in Mali is close to being crushed.  The bombing also comes just one day after French President Francois Hollande stated that the military operation in Mali was in its last phase and that the country was just “days away” from regaining its territorial integrity.  Although thousands of Malians have remained skeptical about French assurances that the northern region of the country was increasingly becoming safer, yesterday’s suicide bombing has proven that while French and Chadian troops are continuing their efforts on capturing Islamist rebels in the Ifoghas mountains, groups of Islamist rebels remain throughout the country and therefore are a continued threat to the country’s security and stability.  The suicide bombing in Timbuktu also raises questions about France’s possible troop withdrawal which is set to take place at the end of April and whether or not African forces will be ready to cope with a threat that is increasingly turning towards hit and run attacks as a mechanism of maintaining its presence within Mali and as a way of destabilizing the security of the country.

French Hostage Possibly Executed

Unconfirmed reports have indicated that a French hostage has been executed in Mali.  A man claiming to be a spokesman for al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has stated in a telephone call to Mauritania’s Agence Nouakchott d’Information (ANI) news agency that Philippe Verdon was “killed on 10 March 2013 in response to the French military intervention in the north of Mali.”  Although the news agency could not confirm whether or not the spokesman is in fact a member of AQIM, ANI did confirm that they had received a phone call from a man who presented himself as Al-Qairawani and who claimed that the “spy” Verdon had been executed.  He further stated that “the French President Hollande is responsible for the lives of the other French hostages.”  In the past, al-Qaeda groups have often used ANI in order to broadcast their claims or statements, which often turn out to be true.

Mr. Verdon was seized on the night of 24 November 2011 along with Serge Lazarevic.  According to their families, the two men had been on a business trip when they were kidnapped from their hotel in Hombori, in northeastern Mali.  The families of the two men have however denied that they were secret service agents.  Shortly after the kidnapping, AQIM claimed responsibility and in August 2012, a video depicting Mr. Verdon describing the “difficult living conditions” was released.

Early Wednesday morning, a French Foreign Office spokesman indicated that they were attempting to verify the reports of the killing.  Currently, no further information has been provided however a spokesman for the French Foreign Office has confirmed that the family of Mr. Verdon has been notified.  If these reports are confirmed to be true, it will be a worrying development for Paris as it will greatly increase the risk of those hostages who are being held in Africa.  There are still some fourteen French nationals who are being held in West Africa, including at least six who are being held in the Sahel by AQIM and its affiliates.  Over the past few weeks, a number of the hostages‘ families have expressed their growing fears for their loved ones in light of the ongoing French intervention in Mali.