Washington places five jihadist leaders in Africa on its list of "global terrorists"
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Washington, August 2, 2021. REUTERS - POOL
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The announcement of the five new African names on Washington's list of global terrorists was made by Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement released overnight from Friday to Saturday, August 7.
Objective: to disrupt the methods of financing three terrorist groups on the continent, namely: the branch of the Islamic State in Mozambique, the Somali terrorist group Al-Shabab, affiliated with al-Qaeda, as well as the JNIM in the Sahel.
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Among the names cited are those of two senior leaders of the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM): Sidan Ag Hitta, commander in charge of the Kidal region in Mali, and Salem ould Breihmatt, of Mauritanian origin, but based in Mali and responsible for supervising the movement in Burkina Faso.
On the side of Al-Shabab, in Somalia, we find the spokesperson of the movement, Ali Mohamud Rage, and then a man designated by Washington as a facilitator of this terrorist group affiliated with al-Qaeda.
Finally in Mozambique, it is the branch of the Islamic State that is targeted through its director of the military and foreign affairs department, Bonomade Machude Omar.
The group is notably behind
the large-scale attack on the city of Palma
last March in the north of the country.
The attack notably interrupted the French Total gas mega-project in the area.
From now on, "
all property and interests in the name of these individuals must be blocked and reported to the Treasury Department, while any financial institution that would provide them with significant services could be exposed to sanctions
", specifies Washington hoping to limit the capacity of these groups to carry out attacks against civilians.
►
The
press release from the US State Department
: click here.
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Terrorism
United States
Africa