Status: 16.09.2021 03:23 a.m.
French forces killed the leader of the Islamic State jihadist militia in the greater Sahara. As French President Macron announced on Twitter, Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi has been “neutralized”.
The French armed forces struck a major blow against the Islamic State (IS) extremist militia. The leader of the IS in the West African Sahel (IS-GS), Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, had been eliminated by French armed forces, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Twitter during the night.
“This is another great achievement in our fight against terrorist groups in the Sahel,” Macron wrote.
More violence by Islamist groups in the region
Al-Sahrawi’s group carried out a fatal attack on US soldiers in 2017. In August 2020, Al-Sahrawi personally ordered the murder of six French charities and their Nigerian driver, Macron’s office said.
Because of the growing violence in the Sahel region, the French president has been urging other European countries to support him for years. France currently has 5,100 soldiers stationed in the Sahel as part of the Barkhane combat mission, but wants to reduce their number to around half by the beginning of 2022 and end the combat mission.
In France as in the Sahel states, the mission has recently come under increasing criticism for lack of success. The soldiers support the troops of the so-called G5 Sahel countries Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad in their fight against extremist groups. The Bundeswehr is also represented by several hundred soldiers in Mali as part of UN and EU missions. Since last year, under pressure from France, there has also been a European task force called Takuba in the region.