The chief of a jihadist group and fourteen different fighters stood trial on Friday, November 13, for operations carried out within the southern a part of the nation on the border with Ivorian and Burkinabè. Souleymane Keita, arrested in 2016, and two different defendants current on the listening to have been sentenced to loss of life, whereas the opposite twelve, absent on the listening to, have been sentenced to loss of life in absentia.
as reported from Bamako, Serge Daniel
In line with witnesses who noticed him seem in court docket, Malian Souleymane Keita, the primary accused, was wearing white. With a bald head, grey hair, he made it clear that he was not a terrorist however a jihadist. In 2013, he claimed on the helm, he joined the Islamists within the Ansar Dine group of Iyad Ag Ghali, within the assault on the town of Konna in central Mali, which triggered the assault. French army intervention.
Subsequently, Souleymane Keita took over the command of jihadist fighters working in southern Mali, on the borders of three international locations: Mali, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire. The intention was clear: to put in on this space a department of the Ansar Dine group with recruitment and army operations.
Two of his companions from Burkina Faso additionally confirmed up. They admitted to finishing up assaults, particularly in Malian cities on the border of Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso. They’re accused of, amongst different issues, “terrorism, possession of weapons of warfare and homicide”. All three are sentenced to loss of life.
Twelve different absent jihadists have been sentenced to loss of life in absentia. Are they useless within the meantime? Have they escaped from jail or have they regained their freedom in reference to the latest hostages in northern Mali?
► Learn additionally: Trial of the terrace assault in Bamako: “Ibrahim 10” and Sadou Chaka sentenced to loss of life
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