Today, France announced the successful apprehension of Oumeya Ould Albakaye, a
senior leader of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS). French





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Senior ISIS Leader Captured By French Forces In Mali Amid Troop Withdrawal
From The Country



(New York, N.Y.) — Today, France announced
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the successful apprehension ofOumeya Ould Albakaye
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leader of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS). French forces carried
out the operation on June 11 as Albakaye attempted to cross the Niger-Mali
border, a region where ISGS is known to be active. Albakaye’s capture comes as
France has started to pull its troops out of Mali due to deteriorating
relations between the two countries.



ISGS is based in Mali and Niger and has carried out multiple attacks in
northern Mali as well as neighboring Burkina Faso. In May 2015,Adnan al-Sahrawi
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followers split from theAQIM
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al-Mourabitoun <[link removed]> group
and pledged allegiance to ISIS—a pledge recognized by ISIS in October 2016.
ISGS reportedly includes members of the Peul ethnic group from the Mali-Niger
border region. The French government estimates ISGS is responsible for the
deaths of 2,000 to 3,000 people in the region. In March 2022 alone,400
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Malian civilians were killed in ISGS attacks.



“The loss of a senior leader is an important albeit temporary setback for
ISIS, which tends to replace those killed. French forces should be applauded
for their success, but because Operation Barkhane is ending, follow-up military
actions may be impossible. The withdrawal of French forces from the region is
regretful as ISIS continues to maintain a dominant presence,” said Counter
Extremism Project (CEP) Senior DirectorDr. Hans-Jakob Schindler
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coordinator of the U.N. Security Council’s ISIL, Al-Qaida and Taliban
Monitoring Team.



Relations between France and Mali have deteriorated in recent years given the
Malian regime’s reluctance to transition to civilian rule. In June 2021, France
announced that it would end Operation Barkane—its eight-year counterterrorism
mission in Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad, Niger, and Mauritania. Of the 5,000 French
troops originally deployed to Mali,2,500
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remain as of February 2022.



To read CEP’s resource Oumeya Ould Albakaye, please click here
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To read CEP’s resource Mali: Extremism and Terrorism, please click here
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