Mali offers reward for killing al-Qaeda leader in Sahel

It announced a huge and unprecedented financial reward, amounting to US$3.5 million for any information leading to the arrest or liquidation of Iyad Ag Ghali, the leader  of the al-Qaeda affiliate "Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin" in the Sahel region.

In a statement broadcast on Malian state television, the military's Ministry of Security offered a reward of 2 billion CFA francs (US$3.5 million) for information that helps "arrest or neutralize Ghali", and US$2.5 million for information leading to the arrest of one of his deputies, Amadou Koufa.

The ministry also offered a reward for information on two Tuareg rebel leaders.

"The authorities are striving to arrest these individuals for their alleged involvement in planning, organising and executing terrorist acts that threatened the safety of individuals and their property within the national territory," the statement said.

Mali is moving to rely on Russia

The military government, which has ruled the country since the 2020 coup, is seeking to regain the reins of security initiative after years of retreat, especially after the end of cooperation with French and Western forces and the trend towards reliance on Russian partners.

The rewards come as a clear message that Bamako has moved from defensive to head-targeting, in an attempt to halt the expansion of armed groups and reassert control over areas outside the state's control.

The Jama'  at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) is responsible for widespread and bloody attacks in the region, and the move revealed by the Ministry of Security in Bamako came at the height of a sharp security escalation and as part of a campaign aimed at dismantling the leadership structure of armed groups that threaten the stability of the country.

Mali's Crisis

The situation on the ground in Mali is escalating at an unprecedented pace, with a broad security collapse and a dangerous shift in the balance of power following the sudden alliance between the separatist Front for the Liberation of Azawad (FLN) and the  al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin.

This alliance enabled the militants to deal painful blows to the military council, most notably the fall of the city of Kidal completely, then the control of the Tessalit camp near the Algerian border, in addition to the expansion of operations in the states of Gao, Timbuktu and Menaka with the aim of strangling the remaining urban centers in the hands of the army.

The conflict is no longer confined to the north, with attacks moving deeper, targeting the fortified city of Kati near Bamako with drones and car bombs, leading to the assassination of Defense Minister Sadio Camara inside his home, and al-Qaeda imposing checkpoints and a partial siege around the capital in an attempt to cut off supplies and confuse the leadership.

The Malian military and Russia's African Legion are trying to contain the collapse with intense air strikes, while the junta insists the situation is "under control" and describes what is happening as a proxy war, rejecting any dialogue with armed groups.

Who is Ghali?

Iyad Ag Ghali, the leader of the Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin, is the region's top wanted man, as the leader of the largest jihadist force fighting the military councils that control several Sahel states.

Ghali, a former Malian diplomat and Tuareg rebel leader, is also on US terror lists and is wanted under an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, and since its establishment in 2017, his group has been blamed for a number of deadly attacks on military authorities.