French special forces, as part of the ongoing Operation Barkhane [7], carried out a raid in northern Mali over the weekend, targeting the jihadist group al-Murabitoon [8]. According to the French Ministry of Defense, the raid "neutralized 10 terrorists"—with "neutralized" usually serving as a euphemism for killed. The town of Menaka, in the Gao region, was taken over by the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO [9]) in 2012, which is now said to be one of al-Murabitoon's constituent groups. MUJAO was driven from Gao in the 2013 French intervention but has continued to wage an insurgency in the region. In April, al-Murabitoon launched a suicide assault on the nearby town of Ansongo [10], killing three civilians and wounding 16 others including nine Nigerien peacekeepers. (Long War Journal [11], Dec. 23)
However, a secular ethno-nationalist militia in the Gao area, the Arab Movement of Azawad (MAA [12]), accused French troops of killing four of its fighters in the raid. Ironically, the MAA had recently joined the pro-government Platform [13] coalition, uniting Tuareg and Arab armed factions in alliance with Mali's military. (Afrik.com [14], Dec. 24)
