 |
Yoro Ould Daha | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Mahri Sidi Amar Ben Daha |
| Born | January 1, 1978 Djebok, Mali |
| Died | February 9, 2020 Tamkoutat, Mali |
| Cause of death | Assassination |
| Allegiance |  MOJWA (2012-2014) MAA-Loyalist (2014-2020)Platform (2014-2020) |
| Rank | Military commander (Platform) |
| Battles/wars | Mali War |
Mahri Sidi Amar Ben Daha, nom de guerre Yoro Ould Daha, was a Malian Arab warlord who fought in Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) and the Arab Movement of Azawad's pro-government faction.
Daha was born on January 1, 1978, to a Lemhar Arab family in Djebok, Mali. [1] [2] [3] He was a child when the Tuareg rebellion of the 1990s broke out, but received his first military training during the conflict. [4] Daha claimed to have fought in the 1990s rebellion in clashes between Arabs and Kuntas, and then later between Arabs and Ganda Koy. [4] Before the Mali War broke out in 2012, Daha joined the ranks of MOJWA, becoming a senior officer in the Islamic police of Gao. [5] [6] He joined Katiba Osama Bin Laden, led by Ahmed al-Tilemsi. [7] In 2014, Daha claimed to have never fought against the Malian Army. [7] His rationale for joining MOJWA, according to a 2014 interview, was that MOJWA consisted of drug traffickers and those looking for money, and protected them from the MNLA. [7]
Daha served as the leader of the mafia wing of MOJWA, engaging in drug trafficking. [8] He stated in 2014 that he was working with drug traffickers before joining MOJWA. [7] When French forces intervened in Mali through Operation Serval, Daha fled to Algeria, with his house in Gao being looted by residents. [7] Daha joined the Arab Movement of Azawad and Platform in April 2014, becoming one of the military commanders of the movement. [7] That July, he clashed with MNLA, HCUA, and rebel MAA fighters at a military base in Tarkint. [2] He then fought in the Battle of Tabankort in 2014, becoming the military commander of Platform. [9]
Daha was arrested by the French Army on the night between July 28–29, 2014, on suspicion of being involved in a July 14 attack that killed a French soldier. He was questioned for four to five days, and then handed to Malian authorities in Bamako. Daha was released by Mali on August 7. [9] [10] [11] In an August 2014 interview, Daha reaffirmed his pro-Malian and pro-French positions, but claimed that he believed France was sympathetic to the MNLA. [7]
Daha was arrested in Niamey by Nigerien authorities on December 3, 2015, but was released shortly afterward. [12] The United Nations adopted sanctions against Daha on July 9, 2019, for violating the Algiers Accords. He was banned from traveling outside of Mali in response. [13] [3] Daha and his bodyguard were assassinated by unknown men traveling on motorcycles at a camp in Tamkoutat, Gao Region, on February 9, 2020. [3]
The Battle of Gao was fought between the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and the Islamist Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA), along with its ally Ansar Dine, in Gao between 26–28 June 2012. By the 28 June, Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal, the three biggest cities in the disputed secessionist region of Azawad within what is recognised as Malian territory, were under the control of Ansar Dine and its Islamist allies.
The Second Battle of Ménaka was the last battle fought by the state of Azawad, as they were defeated by an Islamist coalition.
The Arab Movement of Azawad is an Arab military organization active in Azawad/northern Mali. Initially known as the National Liberation Front of Azawad, it was formed in early 2012, during the 2012 Tuareg rebellion. The MAA claims to be a secular, non-terrorist organization, whose main objective is to defend the interests of all the Arab peoples of northern Mali.
The Imghad Tuareg Self-Defense Group and Allies is an armed group in Azawad, Mali. Most of its 500 to 1,000 fighters are Imghad Tuaregs, and the group supports the Malian government.
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 Coalition of the People of Azawad, also translated as the Coalition for the People of Azawad (CPA) is a Tuareg political and military movement formed in 2014 during the Mali War.
El Hadj Ag Gamou, born December 31, 1964, in Tidermène, Mali, is an Imghad Tuareg Malian division general. Gamou is currently the governor of Kidal Region since November 22, 2023, and has also been the head of his faction of Imghad Tuareg Self-Defense Group and Allies since the group's foundation. Prior to his governorship, Gamou served in the Malian army, commanding Malian troops against Ansar Dine and the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in the early stages of the Mali War.
The National Alliance for the Protection of Fulani Identity and the Restoration of Justice (ANSIPRJ) was a Fulani nationalist political and military movement formed on June 21, 2016, during the Mali War.
Alghabass Ag Intalla is a Malian Tuareg politician and prominent leader of the High Council for the Unity of Azawad and the Coordination of Azawad Movements.
The raid on Ténenkou took place on January 16, 2015, between Malian forces and jihadists of the Ansar Dine-affiliated Katiba Macina.
Between January 16 and 20, 2015, Platform and the Coordination of Azawad Movements clashed in the town of Tabankort, Gao Region, Mali. The clashes sparked a conflict between the CMA and the Dutch contingent of MINUSMA, which led to a controversial demilitarized zone.
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 Salahadin, a katiba within MOJWA that later reformed in the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara after Bady defected.
Between July 19 and 22, 2014, pro-government rebels from GATIA and other militias clashed with rebels from the MNLA, HCUA, and dissident MAA in Tabankort, rural Gao Region, Mali. Clashes were paused after MINUSMA intervened.
The Tilemsi Arabs or Arabs of Gao, include Arabic-speaking populations in the northeastern region of the Niger Bend, near Gao. They are distinct from the other large group of Arabic speakers in Mali, the Bérabich, who are generally more educated and hold more pro-government views. The Lemhar Arabs are the largest tribe within Tilemsi Arabs, and are used as a catch-all term for the group. There are other Tilemsi Arab tribes, such as the Mechdouf. Both the Mechdouf and Lemhar have been in conflict since 2007, and both engage prominently in drug trafficking and ethnic militant groups in the Mali War.
On July 11, 2014, clashes broke out between pro-government militias led by GATIA and rebel militias led by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in Anefif, Mali. The battle was the first major confrontation between pro-government militias and rebel groups since the start of the Mali War in 2012.
On February 6, 2014, between thirty-one and thirty-five Imghad Tuareg civilians were massacred by Fulani militants that may have been connected to the jihadist outfit Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) in and around Tamkoutat, Ménaka Region, Mali.
On 14 December 2013, Katibat Salahadin militants launched a suicide car bomb attack on Senegalese peacekeepers and Malian soldiers in front of the Malian Solidarity Bank, located in the city of Kidal. Residents of Kidal stated that the attack was one of the most destructive since the beginning of the Mali War.
Didier Dacko is a Malian general who commanded Malian forces during the early stages of the Mali War, and reversed the gains made by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and jihadist groups in 2013.
Between May 17 and 18, 2013, the town of Anéfis, at the time controlled by the MNLA, was attacked by the Arab Movement of Azawad's pro-government faction. The MAA captured the town, but quickly abandoned it. The battle occurred amid high tensions between Kunta Arabs and Lemhar Arabs.
Mohamed Ag Intalla is a Malian Tuareg politician who has served as the amenukal of the Ifoghas Tuaregs since December 20, 2014.