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Ansar Dine

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This article is about the Islamist group based in Mali. For the Islamist group based in Syria, seeAnsar al-Din Front.For the Sufi-based organization, seeChérif Ousmane Madani Haïdara.

Ansar Dine
Dates of operation2012(2012)–2017(2017)
Active regionsMali
Senegal
Mauritania
IdeologySalafi jihadism
Salafi movement
OpponentsState opponents

Non-state opponents

Battles and warsInsurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)

Ansar Dine(Arabic:أنصار الدينʾAnṣār ad-Dīn,also transliteratedAnçar Deen), meaning "helpersof thereligion"(Islam)[2]and also known asAnsar al-Din(abbreviated asAAD),[3]was aSalafi jihadistgroup led byIyad Ag Ghaly.Ansar Dine sought to impose absoluteshariaacrossMali.[4][5]The grouptook overthe city ofTimbuktuin 2012, which prompted the French-led intervention,Operation Serval.[6]

The organization is not to be confused with theSufimovementAnçar Dine,founded in Southern Mali in the 1990s byChérif Ousmane Madani Haïdara,which is fundamentally opposed to militant Islamism.[7][8]Ansar Dine is opposed toSufi shrines,and it has destroyed a number of such shrines.[9]

Ansar Dine was active from March 2012 until March 2017, when it merged with other militant Islamist groups to formJama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin.[10]

Organization[edit]

Membership[edit]

Ansar Dine has its main base among theIforatribe from the southern part of the Tuaregs' homeland.[citation needed]It has been linked withAl-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb(AQIM) because its leaderIyad Ag Ghalyis the cousin of AQIM commander Hamada Ag Hama.[5]In April 2012, Salma Belaala, a professor atWarwick Universitywho does research onjihadisminNorth Africasaid that this association was false, claiming that Ansar Dine was opposed toAl Qaeda.[11]Ag Ghaly was also previously associated with the1990 Tuareg rebellion.[5]The group's members are reported to come from Mali,Algeria,andNigeria.[12]Omar Ould Hamaha,who served as Ansar Dine'sspokesmanafter April 2012, became the military leader of the AQIM-affiliatedMovement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa(MOJWA) in August 2012.[13]

On 24 January 2013, a faction which called itself theIslamic Movement for the Azawadsplit from Ansar Dine. As of January 2013, this group was led by the prominent Tuareg leaderAlghabass Ag Intalla.[14][15]

In March 2013, it was designated as aForeign Terrorist Organizationby theU.S. Department of State,[16]and similarly classed as a terrorist organization by theUnited Nations Security Council.[17]andIraqin 2019.[18]

Command structure[edit]

InMopti,the Ansar Dine fighters obtained access toheavy construction equipmentfrom fleeing construction workers and used it to build fighting positions. The fighting positions included an elaborate tunnel network and vehicular obstacles such astrenches.[19]

Weapons[edit]

Ansar Dine jihaditechnicalinTimbuktuin 2012.

Ansar Dine has reportedly put together at least one convoy of 100 vehicles carrying soldiers equipped with small arms.[20]There have also been rumors that fighters may have been able to obtain weapons fromLibya's weapons depots after the fall ofMuammar Gaddafi.[21]The Ansar Dine arsenal also includesanti aircraft weaponswhich can be mounted onpickup trucks.[22][23]

Ideology[edit]

The group seeks to imposesharialaw acrossMali,including theAzawadregion. Witnesses have said that Ansar Dine fighters wear long beards and fly black flags with theshahada(Islamic creed) emblazoned in white.[24][25][26]According to different reports, unlike theNational Movement for the Liberation of Azawad(MNLA), Ansar Dine does not seek independence but rather to keep Mali intact and convert it into a rigidtheocracy.[27][28]

Participation in 2012 northern Mali conflict[edit]

Main article:Tuareg rebellion (2012)

March 2012[edit]

On 21 March 2012, the group claimed control of Mali's vast northeast regions. TheAgence France-Pressereported that Ansar Dine claimed to occupy the towns ofTinzaouaten,Tessalit,andAguelhok,all close to theAlgerianborder, and that they had captured at least 110 civilian and military prisoners.[29]France accused the group of summarily executing 82 soldiers and civilians in capturing Aguelhok, describing the group's tactics as "Al-Qaeda-style".[29]

On 22 March,mutineeringMalian soldiers unhappy withAmadou Toumani Touréoverthrew the Malian government in acoup d'état.Taking advantage of Malian disarray, Ansar Dine and MNLA proceeded to take the towns ofKidal,Gao,andTimbuktuwithin the following ten days. According toJeremy Keenanof theSchool of Oriental and African Studies,Ansar Dine's military contribution was slight compared to the much larger MNLA: "What seems to happen is that when they move into a town, the MNLA take out the military base—not that there's much resistance—and Iyad [Ag Aghaly] goes into town and puts up his flag and starts Boss ing everyone around about sharia law".[30]

April 2012[edit]

On 3 April, the BBC reported that the group had started implementingSharialaw inTimbuktu.[27]That day, Ag Ghaly gave a radio interview in Timbuktu announcing that Sharia would be enforced in the city, including the veiling of women, the stoning ofadulterers,and the punitivemutilationof thieves. According to Timbuktu's mayor, the announcement caused nearly all of Timbuktu's Christian population to flee the city.[31]On 6 April, the MNLA issued adeclaration of independence.However, the military wing of Ansar Dine rejected it hours after it was issued.[32]

May 2012[edit]

Ansar Dine was reportedly responsible for the burning of the tomb of theSufi saintSidi Mahmoud Ben Amar,aWorld Heritage Site,on 4 May in Timbuktu.[9]The group also blocked ahumanitarian convoybringing medical and food aid from reaching Timbuktu on 15 May, objecting to the presence of women in the welcoming committee set up by city residents;[33]after negotiations, the convoy was released on the following day.[34]InGao,the group reportedly bannedvideo games,Malian and Western music, bars, and football.[33]

On 26 May, the MNLA and Ansar Dine announced a pact in which they would merge to form an Islamist state called the "Islamic Republic of Azawad".[35]

June 2012[edit]

However, some later reports indicated that the MNLA had decided to withdraw from the pact, distancing itself from Ansar Dine.[36][37]MNLA and Ansar Dine continued to clash,[38]culminating in theBattle of Gaoon 27 June, in whichMovement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africaand Ansar Dine took control of the city, driving out the MNLA. The following day, Ansar Dine announced that it was in control of all the cities of northern Mali.[39]

July 2012[edit]

In the summer of 2012, members of Ansar Dine broke down the doors of theSidi Yahya Mosque,which, according to legend, were not to be opened until theLast Days.They claimed that reverence for the site was idolatrous, but offered roughly $100U.S. dollarsto repair the mosque.[40]

November 2012[edit]

Ansar Dine andMNLAinOuagadougou,withBlaise Compaoré,16 November 2012

Ansar Dine was in peace talks with Mali's neighboursBurkina FasoandAlgeria.[41]

January 2013[edit]

In late January 2013, during the FrenchOperation Servalagainst the Islamist fighters in Northern Mali, a faction split off from Ansar Dine, led by Alghabass Ag Intalla(h). It calls itself theIslamic Movement of Azawad(MIA) and claims to be ready for negotiations and to reject extremism and terrorism as well as any association withAl-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.[42][43][44]

March 2017[edit]

In March 2017, Iyad Ag Ghaly appeared in a video alongside leaders from the Saharan branch ofAl-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb,Al-Mourabitounand theMacina Liberation Front,in which it was announced their groups were merging under Ag Ghaly's leadership, in an organisation calledJama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin.[1][10]

References[edit]

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  2. ^"Timbuktu taken as Mali junta signals talks".Agence France-Presse. 2 April 2012.Retrieved3 April2012.
  3. ^"American commandos face complicated mission in Mali".Army Times. 18 September 2017.
  4. ^Armed Islamist group claims control in northeast Mali,AFP
  5. ^abc"Islamist fighters call for Sharia law in Mali".Agence France-Presse. 13 March 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 23 April 2012.Retrieved13 April2012.
  6. ^"Ban Ki-moon met en garde contre une intervention au Mali".Le Monde.fr(in French). 29 November 2012.Retrieved27 July2022.
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  12. ^Diallo, Tiemoko; Diarra, Adama (1 July 2012)."Mali Islamists destroy more holy Timbuktu sites".Reuters.Archivedfrom the original on 12 March 2016.Retrieved2 July2012.
  13. ^Thiolay, Boris (3–9 October 2012), "Le djihad du" Barbu rouge "",L'Express(in French), pp. 40–41
  14. ^Sudarsan Raghavan and Edward Cody (25 January 2013)."French troops face complicated military landscape in Mali".The Washington Post.Retrieved30 April2013.
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  17. ^"Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011) concerning Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities QE.A.135.13. ANSAR EDDINE".United Nations. 21 March 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 25 May 2015.Retrieved21 March2013.
  18. ^الموضوع/moj.gov.iq (in Arabic)
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