Djamel Okacha

Last updated
Djamel Okacha
Nickname(s)Yahia Abou al-Hamman
BornMay 9, 1978
Reghaia, Algeria
DiedFebruary 21, 2019
Elakla, Tombouctou Region, Mali
AllegianceFlag of Jihad.svg GSPC (1997-2007)
Islamic State flag.svg AQIM (2007-2019)
Islamic State flag.svg JNIM (2017-2019)
RankEmir of Katiba al-Mulathamoun (2000s)
Emir of Katiba al-Furqan (2009-2019)
Emir of the Sahara (2012-2017)
Second-in-command of JNIM (2017-2019)
UnitKatiba al-Mulathamoun (2003-2009)
Katiba al-Furqan (2009-2019)
Battles / wars Lemgheity attack
In Amenas hostage crisis
Fall of Timbuktu (2012)
Battle of Ifoghas
Battle of Elakla   †

Djamel Okacha, nom de guerre Yahia Abou al-Hamman, was an Algerian jihadist who fought in the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) and later Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM). Okacha served as the commanders of Katiba al-Furqan and Katiba al-Mulathamoun within AQIM, and was appointed as the co-governor of Tombouctou Region during Ansar Dine's capture of the region during the 2012 Tuareg rebellion. Okacha was then appointed as the second-in-command of AQIM between 2012 and 2017, where he co-founded JNIM alongside Iyad Ag Ghaly and Amadou Kouffa. Okacha served as the second-in-command of JNIM until his death in 2019.

Contents

Biography

Okacha was born on May 9, 1978, near Reghaïa, Algeria. [1] He was close with either the Islamic Salvation Front or Armed Islamic Group as a teenager during the Algerian Civil War, which earned him an eighteen-month prison sentence in 1995. [2] [3] [4] After Okacha's release, he befriended Abdelmalek Droukdel as the both of them grew up in Algiers. He joined the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) at its creation in 1998. [2] Within the group, he served as a sniper due to having a lame right foot. [5] [6] In the early 2000s, Okacha was appointed the commander of Zone 2, which consisted of Tizi Ouzou Province. He also became a qadi, or judge, of the GSPC. [2]

Okacha entered northern Mali in 2003 or 2004. [7] Under the command of Mokhtar Belmokhtar, Okacha co-founded the Katiba al-Mulathamoun, one of the brigades of the GSPC. [7] [5] Okacha was sentenced to death in absentia in Algeria for his activities in the GSPC (later renaming to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in 2005). [4] During the GSPC's insurgency in the Sahel in the early 2000s, Okacha took part in several operations. In 2005, he fought in the Lemgheity attack on a Mauritanian army barracks, and in 2009 he helped assassinate American aid worker Christopher Leggett. [7] In August 2009, he led an attack on the French embassy in Nouakchott, Mauritania, and the kidnapping of an Italian-Burkinabe couple in December 2010. [6] [7] During hostage negotiations, Okacha determined the final ransom prices. [5]

In 2009, Okacha also commanded Katiba al-Furqan. Under his leadership, the katiba assassinated Malian colonel Lamana Ould Bou in Timbuktu. Bou's assassination sparked a falling-out with Belmokhtar. [8] However, he was still on good terms with Abou Zeid, the head of another katiba within AQIM. [6]

Mali War

Okacha led jihadist forces of Ansar Dine and AQIM alongside Iyad Ag Ghaly, Abou Zeid, and Belmokhtar during the Tuareg rebellion in 2012. The jihadist offensive captured Timbuktu and drove out the MNLA and MAA. Okacha was appointed as co-governor of Timbuktu following its capture, and his reign in the city suppressed looting and distributed food, although enforced extremist interpretations of Sharia law and destroyed world heritage sites in the city. [9] [10] [8]

After the death of Nabil Abou Alqama in September 2012, Droukdel appointed Okacha as "Emir of the Sahara", effectively making him second-in-command of AQIM. Okacha commanded all AQIM forces in the Sahel. [11] In late 2012 and early 2013, Okacha helped Belmokhtar plan and perpetrate the In Amenas hostage crisis. [2] At this time, Belmokhtar was expelled from AQIM and had founded his own group Signatories By Blood. [12]

Okacha left Timbuktu with his men in January 2013 at the start of Operation Barkhane. He reportedly fought at the battle of Ifoghas that same year. [13] [14] On August 10, 2014, French forces captured an AQIM cell near Timbuktu, including a close confidant of Okacha named Abou Tourab. [15]

In January 2016, Okacha applauded the November 2015 Paris attacks and welcomed Belmokhtar's return to AQIM in an interview with Mauritanian news agency al-Akhbar. He deplored Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi's defection to create the predecessor to the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, but stated he was still in contact with Sahrawi. [16] [17]

Okacha appeared alongside Ghaly, Kouffa, Abu Hassan al-Ansari, and Abu Abderrahman El Senhadji in a video announcing the merger of several Malian jihadist groups into Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) on January 2, 2017. [18] [19] Ghaly led the new group, and Okacha was appointed second-in-command and commander of Tombouctou Region. [20]

Death

Okacha was killed on February 21, 2019, during the battle of Elakla when a group of jihadist vehicles were intercepted by French forces. [21] Another prominent jihadist within JNIM, Seifallah Ben Hassine, was killed during the battle as well. [21] Okacha's death was confirmed in a video released by Sedane Ag Hita, who would later succeed Okacha as JNIM's second-in-command. [22] Droukdel also confirmed Okacha's death in February 2020. [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdelhamid Abou Zeid</span> Algerian al-Qaeda member

Abdelhamid Abou Zeid was an Algerian national and Islamist jihadi militant and smuggler who, in about 2010, became one of the top three military commanders of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a Mali-based militant organization. He competed as the chief rival of Mokhtar Belmokhtar, an Algerian national who had become the major commander in AQIM and later head of his own group. Both gained wealth and power by kidnapping and ransoming European nationals. After taking control of Timbuktu in 2012, Abou Zeid established sharia law and destroyed Sufi shrines.

The Battle of Timetrine was a battle between French forces and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) militants in Timetrine, in Tessalit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amadou Koufa</span>

Amadou Koufa, nom de guerre of Amadou Diallo, also spelled Hamadoun Kouffa or Amadou Kouffa is a Malian Fulani jihadist and preacher who founded Katiba Macina, later part of Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin.

Ahmed al-Tilemsi, nom de guerre of Abderrahmane Ould El Amar was a Malian jihadist leader and drug trafficker who served as a founding member and senior figure of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) and a senior figure and alleged emir of al-Mourabitoun.

The battle of Farimake took place between November 22 and 23, 2018, between French forces of Operation Barkhane and Katibat Macina, a regional variant of Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin. French forces launched an assault on Katiba Macina, claiming to have killed their leader Amadou Koufa.

The battle of Elakla took place on February 21, 2019, between French forces of Operation Barkhane and al-Qaeda aligned Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin.

Mohamed Ould Nouini, nom de guerre Abu Hassan al-Ansari was a Malian jihadist known for perpetrating the 2016 Ouagadougou attacks and the Grand-Bassam attack, along with his high position in Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin.

Nabil Makhloufi, nom de guerre Nabil Abou Alqama, was an Algerian jihadist who fought in the Algerian Civil War and the Mali War, and served as the head of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)'s Sahara region between 2011 and 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamada Ould Mohamed Kheirou</span> Mauritanian jihadist and founder of MUJAO

Hamada Ould Mohamed Kheirou nom de guerre Abu Qum-Qum was a Mauritanian jihadist and the founder of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO/MOJWA).

On July 2, 2015, a MINUSMA convoy was ambushed by jihadists affiliated with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb en route from Goundam to Timbuktu.

Abdou Aïssa, nom de guerre: Sultan Ould Bady, is a Malian jihadist and drug trafficker. He co-founded the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) with Hamada Ould Mohamed Kheirou and Ahmed al-Tilemsi, and founded Katibat Salahaddin, a katiba within MOJWA that later reformed in the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara after Bady defected.

Mohamed Lemine Ould El Hassen, nom de guerre Abdallah al-Chinguetti, was a Mauritanian jihadist and commander of Katiba Al Furqan of the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

Abderrahmane Talha, also known as Abou Talha al-Mauritani or Talha al-Libi, is a Mauritanian jihadist who is the wali of Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin's territory in Tombouctou Region.

Hamada Ag Hama, also known as Abdelkrim Taleb or Abdelkrim al-Targui was a Malian jihadist and emir of Katiba Al Ansar, a brigade in Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

The Battle of Areich Hind, also known as the Battle of Raz el-Ma, took place between September 17 and 19, 2010, during the Islamist insurgency in the Sahel. Mauritanian forces launched an offensive against a group of AQIM jihadists in Malian territory on September 17.

On July 22, 2010, French and Mauritanian forces launched a raid on an Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) base in Tombouctou Region, Mali, in an attempt to rescue French hostage Michel Germaneau. The forces were able to destroy the base, but Germaneau was not rescued and later executed by AQIM.

The Tourine ambush, also known as the Tourine massacre, was one of the September 14, 2008, jihadists from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) ambushed Mauritanian soldiers in the village of Tourine, near Zouérat, Mauritania. The ambush was the first major attack by AQIM during the Insurgency in the Sahel, and sparked major changes in the Mauritanian military.

On June 4, 2005, militants from the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) attacked a Mauritanian army barracks in Lemgheity, Mauritania.

The JNIM-ISGS war is an ongoing armed conflict between Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) and the Islamic State – Sahil Province (ISGS), the Sahelian branches of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State respectively. Since ISGS' formation in October 2016 and the creation of the JNIM coalition in 2017, the two groups had been described as the Sahelien exception or Sahelien anomaly: despite the global war between al-Qaeda and Islamic State affiliates since the latter's splinter from the former in 2014, both ISGS and JNIM have ignored each other and in rare cases worked together against Malian, Nigerien, Burkinabe, French, and international governments and non-Islamist militias until 2020.

Sedane Ag Hita, also known as Abou Abdelhakim al-Kidali, is a Malian jihadist who is currently serving as the second-in-command of Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin since March 11, 2019.

References

  1. ↑ "Aqmi : Djamel Okacha, un émir très discret - Jeune Afrique.com". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Djamel Okacha succède à Abou Zeid à la tête d'Aqmi". Le Figaro (in French). 2013-03-26. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  3. ↑ Badibanga, Sébastien (2013-03-25). "Aqmi : Djamel Okacha, le digne successeur d'Abou Zeid ?". Afrik (in French). Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  4. 1 2 "Le successeur d'Abou Zeid, un combattant aguerri et unificateur". Le Point (in French). 2013-03-25. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  5. 1 2 3 Daniel, Serge (2012). AQMI: L'industrie de l'enlevement. Fayard. ISBN   978-2-213-66279-4.
  6. 1 2 3 "Aqmi au Sahel: Mokhtar Belmokhtar écarté de son commandement". RFI (in French). 2012-10-15. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Visuel interactif : le nouvel organigramme d'Aqmi - Jeune Afrique.com". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  8. 1 2 Salif (August 13, 2014). "Capture d'un adjoint de Yahia Abou El Hammam, gouverneur de Tombouctou pour AQMI et assassin du colonel Lamana !". Maliactu. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  9. ↑ Daniel, Serge. Les mafias du Mali: Trafics et terorisme au Sahel (in French).
  10. ↑ "Mali: Iyad Ag Ghaly, le nouveau maître islamiste du nord". Slate Afrique (in French). 2012-10-29. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  11. ↑ "AQMI et Al-Mourabitoun : le djihad sahélien réunifié ?" (in French). Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  12. ↑ "AQMI : Yahia Aboul Hammam, l'émir du Grand Sahara, récupère la katiba d'Abou Zeid". defense.blogs.lavoixdunord.fr (in French). Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  13. ↑ Al Jazeera English (2014-01-23). Orphans of the Sahara | Exile (Episode 3) . Retrieved 2024-09-19– via YouTube.
  14. ↑ "Wayback Machine". web.archive.org. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  15. ↑ "Mali: un proche du chef d'Aqmi au Sahel arrêté par l'armée française …". archive.is. 2014-09-15. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  16. ↑ "Les nouvelles menaces contre la France de l'émir d'Al-Qaida au Sahel" (in French). 2016-01-12. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  17. ↑ "أبو الهمام في أول مقابلة له بعد التدخل الفرنسي بمالي (نص المقابلة) - الأخبار: أول وكالة أنباء موريتانية مستقلة | news - الأخبار". archive.wikiwix.com. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  18. ↑ "Fusion de groupes jihadistes au Sahel, sous la bannière d'Al-Qaïda - Jeune Afrique.com". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  19. ↑ "De la naissance d'un nouveau " djihadistan " au Sahel" (in French). 2017-03-10. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  20. ↑ "La France annonce avoir tué un des principaux chefs djihadistes au Sahel, Yahia Abou Al-Hammam" (in French). 2019-02-22. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  21. 1 2 Alonso, Pierre; Macé, Célian. "Au Mali, l'armée française tue un "historique" d'Al-Qaeda". Libération (in French). Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  22. ↑ "Mali: Sidan Ag Hitta, chef terroriste, s'exprime dans un message". RFI (in French). 2019-03-11. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  23. ↑ "Le décès du leader djihadiste tunisien Abou Iyadh confirmé par AQMI - Jeune Afrique.com". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2024-09-19.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.