Islamic State extremists have nearly doubled the territory they control in Mali in less than a year, while their al Qaeda-linked rivals are benefiting from the perceived stalemate and weakness of armed groups that signed a 2015 peace deal, UN experts said in a new report.
They added that the faltering implementation of the peace agreement and the continuous attacks on communities provided ISIS and al-Qaeda affiliates with an opportunity to “recreate the 2012 scenario.”
This was done when a military coup took place in March and the rebels in the north formed an organization two months later.
The extremist rebels were ousted from power in the north with the help of a French-led military operation, but they moved from the arid north to Mali’s more populous center in 2015 and are still active.
The panel of experts said in the report that the stalemate in implementing the agreement – particularly the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of fighters – is enabling the al-Qaeda-affiliated JNIM to compete for leadership in northern Mali.
The ongoing violence and attacks, mostly carried out by Islamic State militants in the Greater Sahara, have made signatories to the peace deal “appear vulnerable and unreliable security service providers” to communities targeted by extremists, experts say.
They added that JNIM is taking advantage of this weakness and “now positioning itself as the sole actor capable of protecting the population from ISIS in the Greater Sahara”.
The panel of experts made it clear that the military rulers of Mali are watching the confrontation between ISIS and al-Qaeda affiliates from afar.
The experts quoted some sources as saying that the government believes that the confrontation in the north will benefit the authorities in Mali over time, but other sources believe that time is in favor of the terrorists, “whose military capabilities are growing and their societal penetration increases every day.”
#year #ISIS #bruised #Mali
2023-08-26 10:11:22
