The jihadist is accused of a large number of atrocities against the Malian and Burkinabè populations, according to the French general staff.
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An important jihadist leader has been captured in Mali by French soldiers, as the latter enter the final phase of their withdrawal from the country, the French general staff announced on Wednesday (June 15th). “On the night of June 11 to 12, 2022, an operation by the Barkhane force (…) led to the capture of Oumeya Ould Albakaye, senior official of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS)”said the same source.
the jihadist, “a time anticipated to succeed the former emir” Adnan Abou Walid Al-Sahraoui, neutralized by the French in August 2021, “had skills in terms of handling explosives”. Albakaye had “organized several attacks against various military bases in Mali, including that of Gao. He led networks for the implementation of improvised explosive devices”, added the French staff. He is accused of being responsible for a large number of abuses against the Malian and Burkinabe populations.
France is on the way to completing its military withdrawal from Mali after nine years of engagement, pushed towards the exit by the junta in power in Bamako since August 2020. The captured jihadist “directly targeted the axes of circulation taken by the Barkhane force to lead its rearticulation outside Mali”, explained the French army. The Barkhane anti-jihadist force will keep the detainee for a few days to “a phase of interviews“before he was transferred to the Malian authorities, according to the staff.