AFRICA Malian Jihadist Video Reveals Regional Intentions

OE Watch Commentary: The - based al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb “Speaking in Fulani language, he called on members of this community in (AQIM)-affiliate, Jamat Nusrat al-Islam Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Guinea, and Cameroon to wal-Muslimin (JNIM), has proven since 2017 to be significantly more active than wage jihad with a focus on France and the apostates among the Fulanis.” AQIM itself. While most of its activities have been in Mali and through its own offshoots in Niger and Burkina Faso, it has not until now hinted at a more expansionary agenda. However, the accompanying excerpted French-language article from Mali’s bamada.net discusses the latest video released by the JNIM leader, Muhammed Koufa, who was originally the leader of the (MLF). The MLF was also known as Macina, with Macina referring to the name of a historic Fulani emirate in Mali. The video represents a departure from Koufa’s prior narratives: for the first time as leader of JNIM the group now seems to be focused on Fulanis and

West Africa as a whole, and not just Mali. Map shows the major Fula / Fulani /Peul Jihad states of West Africa, circa 1830, prior to the rise of Umar Tall. Source: T L Miles at en.wikipedia [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fula_jihad_states_map_general_c1830.png. According to the article, the video, which was released by JNIM’s al-Zallaqa media agency, lasted nearly 12 minutes. It was the first appearance since March 2017 of Koufa alongside Iyad Ag Ghaly, the leader of the other northern Mali-based AQIM affiliate, Ansar Dine, and Yahya Abu Hammam, AQIM’s emir for the Sahel. The article notes that the fact that these three most important jihadist commanders in Mali could even meet together in-person is impressive considering the military resources being expended to capture all of them. In the March 2017 video, there were two other AQIM members with these three commanders, but, according to the article, those two commanders have since been killed. Notably, however, in early December France claimed it killed Koufa and other militants in an air strike, but it could not be confirmed through other sources.

The article describes other scenes of the video where Koufa preaches to a brigade of his fighters about unity, leads prayers, drives a vehicle, and gathers together fighters.

Although virtually all AQIM and JNIM videos are in Arabic, what is notable about this video is that Koufa speaks not only in Fulani, but also calls on other Fulanis in Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Guinea, and Cameroon to wage jihad. Because Fulanis are West Africa’s most widespread ethno-linguistic group, Koufa is evidently attempting to inspire jihadists in all of these other countries that currently do not have a particularly strong al-Qaeda presence (although has a jihadist presence in Nigeria and neighboring countries, its strongest faction is aligned with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, but not al-Qaeda).

There are two other notable aspects of the video, according to the article: it includes nasheeds, or Islamic hymns, from both global jihadi groups like al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and local ones in Fulani; and it was disseminated via the global social media network, WhatsApp. The video could therefore be expected to reach a wide audience, enhance Koufa’s profile, and potentially influence aspirant jihadis from Fulani communities elsewhere in West Africa. End OE Watch Commentary (Zenn) Source: “Nouvelle Vidéo Du Jnim: Signe De Vie De Amadou Koufa (New Video Of Jnim: Sign Of Life Of Amadou Koufa),” bamada.net, 12 November 2018. http://bamada.net/nouvelle-video-du-jnim-signe-de-vie-de-amadou-koufa Produced by al-Zallaqa, the media arm of this group, with a duration of 11 minutes and 55 seconds, this is the first appearance of the head of the Katiba of Ansar Dine in Macina, Amadou Kufa, for over a year. He was seen sitting in the middle of Iyad Ag Ghali and the Algerian Yahya Abu Hammam (aka Jamel Okocha), emir of AQIM in the Sahel. The last video appearance of Kufa goes back to March 2017 when there was the announcement of the creation of JNIM. The first observation is that in this video it was above all to show their unity. The only one to speak in this recording is also Amadou Kufa. He is seen leading prayers, driving a white pick-up truck, and mobilizing armed men. Speaking in Fulani language, he called on members of this community in Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Guinea, and Cameroon to wage jihad with a focus on France and the apostates among the Fulanis. The first hymn sung in this video is the one belonging to the Al Qaeda Branch in Yemen (AQAP). This is to demonstrate the anchoring of JNIM in the al Qaeda movement in the Arabian Peninsula, or even at the global level. What surprises one most is how these jihadist leaders manage to broadcast quality videos while having to face a significant amount of military pressure around them. OE Watch | January 2019 52