Macina Liberation Front
| Macina Liberation Front | |
|---|---|
| Participant in Northern Mali conflict | |
| Active | January 2015[1]-Present |
| Ideology | Salafist jihadism |
| Leaders | Amadou Kouffa[2] |
| Area of operations |
 Mali |
| Allies |
 Al-Mourabitoun |
| Battles and wars | Northern Mali conflict |
The Macina Liberation Front (MLF, French: Force de libération du Macina, also translated Macina Liberation Movement[3]) is a Malian militant Jihadist organisation aiming to restore the 19th Century Macina Empire.[4]
Background
In March 2012, the President of Mali Amadou Toumani Touré was ousted in a coup d'état over his handling of an insurgency in Northern Mali. As a consequence of the instability that followed, Mali's three largest northern cities—Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu—were overrun by a mixture of Islamists and Tuareg Nationalists. By July, the Tuareg were pushed out by their former allies, and the area became dominated by Jihadist groups: Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Ansar Dine, and the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO).[5]
In January 2013, the Islamists captured the town of Konna in Central Mali, after fierce fighting with Malian forces. They were driven out by French forces days later,[6] the start of a French-led military intervention known as Operation Serval, which succeeded in expelling the Islamists from the areas they had controlled. However, some fighters were able to retreat hideouts in the mountains or deserts and regroup.[7]
History
The Macina Liberation Front first came to prominence in January 2015, when it began claiming responsibility for attacks in central and southern Mali. The group's leader is Amadou Kouffa, a Marabout who had acted as commander for the Islamist militants in the 2013 Battle of Konna.[2] The core of the group is made up of ethnic Fulani veterans of the Northern Mali conflict. The Fulani make up around 9 percent of Mali's population, but are locally dominant in the Mopti Region.[4]
The group has been responsible for attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers, French troops and Malian government forces, as well as civilians.[1]
References
- 1 2 Kathleen Caulderwood (9 May 2015). "Macina Liberation Movement: New Terror Group In Mali Threatens Peace Agreement". International Business Times. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- 1 2 "The Sahel’s Militant ‘Melting Pot’: Hamadou Kouffa’s Macina Liberation Front (FLM)". The Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ↑ "Mali: Lawlessness, Abuses Imperil Population". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- 1 2 "Mali's Islamist conflict spreads as new militant group emerges". Reuters. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ↑ Nossiter, Adam (18 July 2012). "Jihadists' Fierce Justice Drives Thousands to Flee Mali". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
- ↑ "Over 100 dead in French strikes and fighting in Mali". Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- ↑ "France begins first stage of Mali military withdrawal". BBC. 25 May 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2013.