Last week, several Malian and international hostages were released in exchange for the release of several hundred prisoners. Among them are fighters involved in deadly attacks on the Malian army and two personalities considered leaders of the GSIM affiliated with al-Qaeda in the Sahel.
For these releases, the discussions were bitter about certain names like Fawaz Ould Ahmed. Before he was arrested in 2016, this Mauretanian did a lot. Director of the al-Mourabitoune group, affiliated with Aqmi and founded by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, nicknamed “Ibrahim N ° 10” was one of the attackers of the restaurant La Terrasse in Bamako in 2015. Arms in hand initially became Fawaz Ould Ahmed then organizer: for the attacks from Byblos in Sévaré a few months later or Grand Bassam in Ivory Coast the following year.
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During his detention, he also talked a lot. Interviewed in 2018 by French investigators, he gave many details about the function of jihadist groups based in northern Mali and linked to Aqmi. After his release, was he greeted by his Aqmi companions as a hero or a traitor?
Another name that has been mentioned repeatedly since last week, the Mimi Ould Baba Ould Cheick. He was arrested in Mali in 2017 by French force Barkhane and accused of being one of the brains of the Grand Bassam attacks and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. For this latest attack, he was also officially indicted by U.S. Justice earlier this year. An American was actually killed in this attack on the Burkinabè capital in January 2016. His release would have been one of the blocking points that made the negotiations last until the last minute.
Three lists in total
Denied by some, confirmed by others, these two releases are surrounded by a mysterious halo. Malian dealers will not confirm them in any way. But a senior source who has had access to the various lists provided by the jihadists – three in all – and behind the scenes of the negotiations is categorical: out of discretion, the names of Fawaz Ould Ahmed and Mimi Ould Baba Ould Cheick do not appear on the lists . But they were actually released.
As for the other released prisoners, all sources are unanimous: the majority of people who have been released from Malian prisons are not important leaders of jihadist groups. Yet it is said that some are involved in major attacks: attacks targeting Westerners, but also attacks on the Malian army. Like those, especially deadly, from Nampala, in 2016 or Mondoro and Boulkessi, last year. Attacks claimed by GISM, the support group for Islam and Muslims, affiliated with Aqmi.
