Mali: Army reports arrest of Islamic State-affiliated group leader

Mali’s security forces said they have arrested two individuals in a special operation, one of whom is a prominent and leading figure in the Islamic State group’s Sahel branch.

Malian army, which has been fighting an Islamist insurgency for years, has also reported that several fighters from the terrorist group were killed on Saturday (4 January) during the operation in the northern part of the West African country. The Malian Armed Forces said in a statement that they had detained “Mahamad Ould Erkehile, aka Abu Rakia,” along with “Abu Hash,” identified as a key leader of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS). He is accused of coordinating “the worst atrocities” committed against civilians in the Menaka and Gao regions in northeastern Mali, as well as assaults on the army.

The Islamist insurgency is widely seen as a key reason for the instability that has spread through the Sahel region. For the past twelve years, Mali has been grappling with significant instability linked to militants affiliated with both the Islamist State and Al-Qaeda, in addition to local criminal organizations.

“Principal investigations confirm that he collaborated actively with Abu Huzeifa and Osama Madalo, two terrorist leaders who were previously neutralized,” Mali’s military added.

In May 2022, the junta-ruled government severed ties with France, its former colonial ruler, and has gradually shifted its military and political alliances towards Russia.