Olivier Dubois, Algeria, France, EI group... the head of Aqmi answers questions from France 24

Abu Obeida Youssef al-Annabi, leader of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

© Screenshot France24.fr

Text by: David Baché

3 mins

Abu Obeida Youssef al-Annabi is the emir of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the Sahelian branch of the Al-Qaeda terrorist powerhouse.

His claims to extend to the Sahel have "

", he said in an exclusive interview with Wassim Nasr, journalist at France 24.

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Our colleague from France 24 Wassim Nasr, a specialist in jihadism, took a year to negotiate an exclusive interview with Abou Obeida Youssef al-Annabi.

Only a very short formal excerpt was broadcast this Monday morning on the channel, as proof of authenticity.

In fact, in order not to spread al-Qaeda propaganda, Abu Obeida Youssef al-Annabi's responses were not broadcast, but reported, in substance, by the journalist.

First of all,

confirms that it is indeed AQMI who holds Olivier Dubois.

This is the first time an al-Qaeda leader has said so.

So far, it was the French journalist who had himself explained, in videos broadcast by his captors, to be in the hands of the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (the Jnim, its Arabic acronym), an ally of 'Al-Qaeda.

Olivier Dubois was kidnapped on April 8, 2021 in Gao when he had an appointment with a local jihadist leader for an interview.

Abou Obeida Youssef al-Annabi, however, denies any " 

" and assures that the ball is in the court of the French authorities to negotiate his release. 

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In addition, the Emir of AQIM welcomes the departure of the French army from Mali – the withdrawal of the Barkhane force was completed last August – and from Burkina – the Saber force officially ended on February 18. –, which he considers a “ 

”, even if it is the Malian and Burkinabè authorities of transition, and not the jihadist group, who obtained these departures.

As for the Russian auxiliaries of the Malian army, they are, in the same way as the French soldiers, designated by the head of AQIM as " 

" enemy forces. 

AQIM again denies its role in the Solhan massacre 

Asked about AQIM's claims of expansion in the Sahel, its leader affirms that they have "

 ".

But the objectives of AQIM are, according to him, " 

 ": if French interests in the Sahel can be targeted, the jihadist leader thus rejects any desire to carry out attacks on French territory.

The Emir of Aqmi, of Algerian nationality, also speaks about the situation in his country.

While AQIM had supported the "hirak", the popular revolt initiated in 2019 in Algeria, the emir of AQIM confirms what he had already said last January: the truce is over, he therefore calls for combat in Algeria .

On the "war" between AQIM and its great rival, the Islamic State group, Abou Obeida Youssef al-Annabi confirms that he seeks to forge alliances with local tribes, but assures that he does not seek any with States, nor with political movements – a reference to the signatory groups of the 2015 peace agreement in Mali, some leaders of which recently spoke with Iyad Ag Ghaly, leader of Jnim, an ally of AQIM.

Finally, the head of the Sahelian branch of Al-Qaeda once again denies any responsibility for the

, which killed at least 132 people in Burkina Faso in June 2021. The Burkinabe authorities have nevertheless attributed this massacre to a katiba affiliated with Jnim.

The Islamic State group had also blamed the massacre on Al-Qaeda.

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