Ansar Dine, Mali Jihadists, Operation Barkhane

Deserts Ghosts - Mali Jihadists Are Still Around, France Cranks Up New Mission

by Martin Forgues · August 26, 2014

Despite being crushingly defeated by the joint efforts of a French/Malian/West African military effort last year, Northern Mali Jihadists may be slowly crawling out of their hideouts, like desert ghosts, as France prepares to launch a new mission to fight those groups.

Earlier this month, Ansar Dine’s leader, Iyad Ag Aly, resufaced in a rare, 24-minute video broadcast on Youtube. The video has since been deleted by the website due to its policy violation.

About Martin Forgues

is a freelance journalist and author based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. An 11-year veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, he served as an infantryman first, then was recruited by the Army Psychological Operations (PSYOPS) cell as a Tactical Operator and Target Audience Analyst. He was deployed in Bosnia in 2002 and in Afghanistan in 2007-2008. His first book, "Afghanicide", a comprehensive critique of Canada's war in Afghanistan, hit the shelves in April 2014. He also pursues academic interests in Political Science and Philosophy on a part-time basis.

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MGX
Merci Martin !
Tommy253
Good write-up, thanks. I've been wondering how Sofrep thinks about this region. Conventional thinking both about nation states and SOF gets turned upside down in the area, because national institutions are so weak and swaths of the population disenfranchised; the malleability of Ansar Dine being a good example. I once heard a US Army SF officer say eliminating the HVTs and dismantling the Islamist networks will send these groups back to the desert where they just become common criminals. Yes, but they keep coming back. So long as a kg of coke goes about 3K Euro in transit, it's going to be tough snuffing these folks out from along the axis of Conakry to Lagos up to Algiers and Tripoli across countries lacking police, justice systems, and worth-while employment. It'll take a whole of government approach the US doesn't seem capable of today. With a nod to YP, I hope the French and EU stick with it. They have a heritage there, and a renewed interest in partnership versus neocolonialism.
Kiyabear
I really appreciate the update. I've been wondering what has been happening in that region.
YankeePapa
. ...In spite of propaganda, France is not playing "neo-colonialist" in the region. France does have a sort of "paternalistic" impulse regarding many of its former colonies in Africa (and even the Congo... formerly Zaire... because it is partially French speaking...) . ...After Indochina and Algeria, France stopped thinking with it's sense of pride and got very hard headed. Its commitments have been limited... and as there is no longer conscription in France, only regulars are deployed... (French conscripts not sent to Indochina, but were sent to Algeria... at the time legally part of "Metropolitan France...") As a result most in France (except the far left) are content. . ...French intelligence is very good. They have no silly illusions about the political realities where they operate. . -YP-