Mali: Iyad Ag Ghali ready to negotiate with the authorities

Text by: RFI Follow

The Support Group for Islam and Muslims, the terrorist coalition affiliated with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, issued a statement on Sunday. The GSIM, JNIM according to its acronym in Arabic, affirms that it poses no prerequisite for the discussions except the withdrawal of French troops from Operation Barkhane.

Publicity

It was through the official communication channel of the GSIM , Az-Zallaqa, that the terrorist organization communicated. The text was authenticated by several security experts in the region, as well as a Mauritanian information agency, al-Akhbar.

End of the " French occupation "

In its press release, the GSIM poses in an approach of opening. We must put an end to " this bloody conflict " which has lasted for more than seven years, but to end it, the group demands the withdrawal of French troops. The GSIM is hiding behind popular opinion, which it says has clearly expressed in the street its desire to see " the French occupation " end. The terrorist coalition is also calling on the government to end Minusma, the United Nations peacekeeping mission.

Loss of speed

This approach is in any case new. It must be said that the GSIM has been losing momentum for almost a year. A French raid in February 2019 had notably eliminated three important executives of the group: Djamel Okacha, historical member of Aqmi, Abou Talha al-Libi , chief of al-Furqan, a katiba from the north of Timbuktu, and Abou Iyad, chief of al-Qaeda in Tunisia.

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• Mali
• Terrorism
• AQIM

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