The Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), a Sahelian jihadist alliance affiliated with Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on Thursday that injured six French soldiers on January 8 in Mali.
In a statement released by its Al-Zallaqa propaganda platform, the GSIM (or Jnim according to the Arabic acronym), the main jihadist alliance in the Sahel, notably invokes the alleged death of civilians in a recent airstrike - which France strongly denies - and the continued French military presence in the sub-region.
A fighter from the group "detonated his vehicle filled with explosives against a convoy of French occupying forces and Malian apostates, in Arbanda, near the border with Burkina Faso," said GSIM.
"If you do not withdraw, you will see new attacks"
“We want to assure the government and the French people that, however strong the occupying power, it cannot overcome the will of the people to live free.
If you do not withdraw, you will witness new attacks, even more violent, ”adds the jihadist group.
This press release has been authenticated by the American center for the monitoring of jihadist sites SITE.
#Mali (1/5) demand for the attack against #Barkhane in #Isey, #JNIM denounces "the media which justify the occupation which says it wants to prevent the Caliphate & Sharia ... protect Europe ... yet no Malian attacked the French in #France before or after the occupation »pic.twitter.com/xFla1Ugacd
- Wassim Nasr (@SimNasr) January 14, 2021
The French army announced on January 8 that six soldiers of its anti-jihadist force Barkhane had been wounded the same day in Mali by a suicide vehicle.
This is the third attack since the end of December against the French soldiers, who have already deplored five deaths during the period, according to the staff of the French army.
In 2020, France engaged 600 additional troops in the Sahel, bringing its strength to around 5,100. It is currently reviewing the evolution of this engagement.
At the end of November, the commander of Barkhane, Marc Conruyt, had designated before the French deputies the GSIM as the “most dangerous enemy” in the Sahel.
A year earlier, it was the Islamic State group in the greater Sahara (EIGS) which had been designated as enemy number one in the region.