EIGS executives captured in northern Mali
Soldiers from the Barkhane force in Mali.
© AFP / File
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
In Mali, fighting on Tuesday (June 15) pitted Nigerien and French soldiers, who were leading a joint reconnaissance operation, against jihadists from the Islamic State of the Greater Sahara (EIGS) group.
Publicity
Read more
A Nigerien soldier was killed, another wounded, and two French soldiers of the Barkhane force were also wounded in this operation, according to details provided Wednesday, June 16 by the French general staff. These fights took place in In Arabane, near Ménaka, in Mali, in the Three Borders area. An area where several actions have been carried out in recent days, which have led to the arrest of several executives of the Islamic State group.
The joint deployment of Barkhane and Nigerien forces is "
still ongoing
". The French army gives few details, but evokes "
a dozen"
terrorists killed or captured and announces the arrest, last Friday near Ménaka, of "
a cadre of the Islamic State group in the Great Sahara
": Dadi Ould Chaïb, better known as Abu Darda or Abu Dardar. Former member of Mujao, a jihadist group which occupied northern Mali in 2012 with Ansar Dine and Aqmi, he has since joined the Islamic State group. Arrested for the first time in 2014, he was handed over to the Malian authorities and then released last October as part of the prisoner exchange which allowed the release of four hostages, including Soumaïla Cissé and Sophie Pétronin.
Strangely enough, this negotiation was conducted with the Jnim (Support Group for Islam and Muslims), linked to Al-Qaeda, a big rival in the field of the EIGS.
From a French security source, Abou Darda also went through Al Mourabitoune, the group of fighters founded by Mokhtar Belmokhtar.
Since his release, Abu Darda has exercised traditional justice in the Tin Hama area, where he is believed to have participated in the mutilation of three men accused of theft last month.
The French army specifies that at the time of his arrest, Abou Darda was carrying "
an automatic weapon, a night vision telescope, a combat vest, a telephone and a radio
".
Several sources also report the arrest of three other EIGS officials, including Rhissa Al Sahraoui, also a former pillar of the Mujao, whom several researchers and local soldiers describe as a senior official of the Islamic State group, close to the head of the organization in the area, Abou Walid Al Sahraoui.
The French army did not wish to confirm this arrest, nor to specify whether the people arrested were still being questioned by the Barkhane force or if they had already been handed over to the Malian authorities.
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Mali
EI
Terrorism