Almost like a snub, a final proof of their importance before departure, the French soldiers, in full withdrawal from Mali, captured an important jihadist leader on the border. “On the night of June 11 to 12, 2022, an operation by the Barkhane force (…) enabled the capture of Oumeya Ould Albakaye, a senior official of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS)”, indicates the state- French major.
The jihadist, “a time tipped to succeed the former emir” Adnan Abou Walid Al-Sahraoui, neutralized by the French in August 2021, “had skills in terms of handling explosives”, commented a security source. Albakaye was the head of the EIGS for Gourma, in Mali, and for Oudalan, in the north of Burkina Faso, according to the staff. “He organized several attacks against various military bases in Mali, including that of Gao. He was leading networks implementing improvised explosive devices,” he said.
Barkhane towards the exit
A local elected official confirmed his capture “during a helicopter intervention in a camp” in the Tessit sector, on the Malian side of the so-called three-border area, on the borders of Burkina Faso and Niger. “They took it after fighting in the area between EIGS and JNIM”, Arabic acronym for the Support Group for Islam and Muslims, affiliated with Al-Qaeda, he added under cover of anonymity for security reasons.
The area of the three borders is one of the most active centers of polymorphic violence raging in the Sahel. It is a theater of operations for jihadist groups, various armed groups, the armies of the three border countries and the soldiers of the French anti-jihadist force Barkhane. Pushed towards the exit by the military junta, the latter had precisely returned the keys on Monday to the Ménaka base, and will have left Mali “at the end of the summer”.