According to sources who spoke to “Sky News Arabia” from the Azawad region in northern Mali, the organization “ISIS Greater Sahara” launched an attack on Tedghmine on Saturday, without resistance, which ended by his control of the region, killing 10 people. civilians.
Sources differed as to whether, with control of the area, Menaka Province was entirely in the hands of ISIS.
The importance of Mianka for the Islamic State
• According to an explanation by professor of political science at the University of Bamako, Mohamed Ag Ismail, to “Sky News Arabia”, Ménaka is important for the Islamic State to achieve its goal of declaring a “province” for it in Mali.
• Ménaka, located in the border triangle between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, is one of the most important points for the smuggling of militants, weapons, drugs, fuel and illegal immigrants, which are criminal activities that lavish enormous funds on the Islamic State; Therefore, he is surrounded by intense competition with the “Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimeen” group.
• In a previous report by “Sky News Arabia”, experts explained that the terrorist organization aims to displace Bedouins and civilians in the border triangle areas, and take over the region; Because it is also rich in oil and gas.
“incomplete” control
Michael Churkin, a researcher at the American Rand Center for Security Consulting, warns that with ‘ISIS Greater Desert’ control over Menaka, “their presence has become more powerful, as they bring with them insecurity and chaos, unlike to the “Nasrat al-Islam and Muslims” group, which benefits from a popular incubator in certain regions”.
The Islamic State consists mainly of foreign elements who treat the local population more harshly, while the rival group Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin focuses on security forces, the army and foreign forces.
However, the representative of the “National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad” in Mauritania, Mr. Ben Bella, believes that the Islamic State has not completely controlled Ménaka, pointing to “the presence of United Nations forces and certain armed movements in Azawad affiliated with the Malian army there.”
He notes that the organization “promotes its control of Menaka as a kind of propaganda to weaken the morale of the local population and attract new fighters, as part of its competition with the Al-Nusra group”.
At the same time, he claims that the Islamic State is “strong in the state of Ménaka” because of its reliance on the sudden strategy of “hit and run”, its rapid withdrawal and its dispersion in the rugged valleys. . It also benefits from the long borders. with Niger, from which comes the human support of extremist groups in Niger, Nigeria and Chad.
The power struggle between ISIS and al-Nusra
Previously, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (based in Washington) and the ACLED Armed Conflict Locations Data Group monitored indicators of the influence of terrorist groups in the Sahel region of central West Africa, declaring:
• The ‘Victory of Islam and Muslims’ and ‘ISIS’ organizations compete to establish what they claim to be the ‘Caliphate State’, and the former organization is the most prevalent.
• The dispute raged after the French withdrawal from Mali and French planes whose strikes were hampering the development of terrorist operations came to a halt.
• Attacks have quadrupled since 2019, and among 135 administrative regions of Mali in 2022.
• “Al-Nusra” expanded its recruitment operations in Azawad, northern Mali, and extended its control for the first time to the southern regions, after thousands of people from these regions joined the organization “Masina”.
• “Al-Nusra” appointed emirs for the regions of Timbuktu, in northern Mali; This signifies the beginning of the emergence of the characteristics of its “caliphate state”.
• ISIS has recorded activities in Algeria, Benin and Nigeria, with efforts to establish a coordination center with terrorists in Libya, motivated by an expansion plan to establish its projected caliphate.
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