Florence Parly announces the death or arrest of ISGS leaders

Several members of the ISGS (the self-styled Islamic State of the Greater Sahara) have been killed or captured in recent weeks thanks to the actions of the French Barkhane force and some of its partners in the region. The French Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, was responsible for announcing information that had been rumoured for some time and has now finally been made official.

The rumours were that Abdel Hakim al-Sahraoui, "a very media-friendly figure in the ISGS known for his very strict application of Sharia law", had died, as the French minister has now confirmed. She also stated that they had had "confirmation that he died in May in as yet unknown circumstances" during a meeting with the Association of Defence Journalists (ADJ). 

Barkhane is the name of the operation deployed by the French Armed Forces to fight terrorism in conjunction with local military forces. It was Barkhane that launched Operation Solstice, which, with the help of the Nigerian armed forces and the European task force Takuba, captured two lieutenants of the ISGS emir, Adnan Abou Walid Sahraoui, Sidi Ahmed Ould Mohammed alias Katab al-Mauritani, as well as Dadi Ould Chouaib, alias Abou Dardar, whose capture was recently announced. In addition, six jihadists were also "neutralised", the minister said, including the Tuareg ISGS cadre Almahmoud al-Baye alias Ikaray, presented as the "leader of a group of fighters in the Menaka region, on the border with Niger". 

France is preparing to launch a gradual withdrawal operation from the Sahel region. The Barkhane force - which currently numbers 5,100 men - will disappear in favour of a refocused counter-terrorism and combat support to local armies, which will be provided by the European special forces group Takuba, which has yet to gain strength in the territory in order to implement the plan. This project aims to leave the bases in northern Mali - Tessalit, Kidal and Timbuktu - by the end of 2021. 

The next step for French military forces is to focus their efforts on the Gao and Ménaka rights of way, closer to the area known as the "three frontiers", on the borders of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, as well as Niamey, the capital of Niger. In Burkina Faso, jihadist terrorism is at its most worrying and has led to the dismissal of the defence and security ministers. The attack at the beginning of June, which left 160 people dead, according to Burkina Faso government figures, was one of the main triggers for the government's decision. 

For its part, Paris also intends to continue its search for the leaders of jihadist groups and has had several major successes in recent months. The latest before Minister Parly's statements was Dadi Ould Chouaib, alias Abou Dardar, "one of the leaders of the EIGS", who was arrested in Mali by French forces, the French General Staff announced in an official communiqué. The detainee was "suspected of having mutilated three men on 2 May during the weekly market in Tin Hama (located in the north of the country)". 

With the announcement of the breakthrough provided by the French Ministry of Armed Forces, another step forward in the tough battle against terrorism being waged in the Sahel region. Peace in the territory is still far from being a reality, but both the French government and those who are collaborating in the fight against radical forces are making a major effort in recent days to make progress. One of the fundamental pillars for further progress is the reinforcement of European Takuba forces so that the French can move from their current bases in Mali to the area of the "three borders", which is expected to happen as soon as possible.