According to individuals familiar with the discussions, a strong al-Qaida-affiliated leader in the Sahel has been holding covert meetings with armed organisations in northern Mali that share his struggle against militants supported by the Islamic State group.
The leader of the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), which has been competing with the self-described Islamic State (IS) for influence in the Sahel, is the jihadist Iyad Ag Ghaly, a Tuareg by ethnicity.
According to the reports, he recently conducted covert meetings in northern Mali, including ones with the heads of armed organisations engaged in violent conflict with IS terrorists.
They acknowledged that the discussions had taken place but remained silent in the face of growing rumours that the GSIM would band together with these organisations.
A jihadist insurgency that began in northern Mali has destabilised the whole area and fueled worries that it could spread to nations farther south along the Gulf of Guinea.
Millions of people have fled their homes across the Sahel to escape the violence, which has claimed thousands of lives.
“Iyad Ag Ghaly Kala met me last week in the Kidal district on an individual basis and by myself. Others travelled in compact groupings. Regarding bringing together the sons of the Kidal district, he said the same thing to everyone: “A local official spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity.
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A coalition of mostly Tuareg organisations known as the Coordination of Azawad Movements rules Kidal, a crossroads region in the north, instead of the Malian state (CMA).
Jihadists joined the CMA’s campaign for regional independence in 2012, which they later expanded into an insurgency.
With the Malian government and armed organisations that support the state, the CMA signed a peace accord in 2015.
Various groups fighting IS
The violence that is currently ravaging Mali has not significantly affected the Kidal region.
The CMA, pro-state organisations, and the GSIM, however, have been fighting IS on their own for months in the Gao and Menaka areas, to the south of the region.
There has been a massive exodus of people from their homes, and hundreds of civilians have died as a result.
The individual who spoke with Ag Ghaly reported that “he paid tribute to the expected fusion” of the several organisations that make up the CMA, which might occur in February.
Many Malian commentators and officials view Ag Ghaly as an indispensable player in efforts to end the nation’s protracted turmoil.
He used to communicate with the administration, but since the coup in 2020, the issue of a conversation between jihadists and the government has fallen off the political agenda.
Another leader in the north told AFP that Ag Ghaly had always maintained contact with influential figures in his area and that the most recent encounters “aren’t new.”
“Mercenaries” from Russia
A local government official reported that Ag Ghaly also met with members of the civilian population and assured them of his willingness to “defend Sharia and protect them from the Malian army and Russian mercenaries.”
By putting in agents from the Wagner paramilitary group, according to France and others, the ruling junta has developed intimate relations with the Kremlin.
According to a foreign diplomat, Ag Ghaly “wants to impose himself as the unquestioned head of the northern Sahel,” and the question is how the junta would react to “this dangerous new terrain.”
The 2015 peace deal has frequently been regarded as essential to efforts to put an end to the slaughter in Mali, yet despite great fanfare after its signature, it is still inactive.
The CMA and other organisations withdrew from the agreement in December, criticising the junta’s “inertia” in handling the northeast situation.
According to diplomatic sources, an international team is scheduled to travel to Kidal on Wednesday with the goal of resuming communications regarding the deal.
APF
