Iyad ag Ghali

The deal that saw Jama'a Nusrat ul Islam wa al Muslimin (JNIM) the Malian branch of Al Qaida led by Iyad ag Ghaly exchange four hostages for 204 presumed jihadists has thrown up more questions than answers...

Maïga cut off support for the commission that Dicko had set up to try to develop a dialogue with Mali's two most prominent homegrown jihadist chiefs Iyad ag Ghaly head of the Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) and Amadou Koufa who leads its central Malian subsidiary the Front de Libération du Macina (FLM – AC Vol 60 No 19 The talking cure)...

In the absence of a claim of responsibility from the jihadists speculation centred on the probability that they belonged to Mali's Al Qaida-affiliated Jamaat Nusrat ul Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) which is led by Iyad ag Ghali (AC Vol 59 No 5 New jihadist alliance strikes)...

Dicko is not aligned with the homegrown jihadist chiefs Iyad ag Ghaly and Amadou Koufa but he does favour talks with them – a strategy Keïta is now trying to pursue (AC Vol 61 No 4 Terrorists at the table)...

The jihadist leader Iyad ag Ghali is an old friend of Dicko's...

President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta says his envoy Dioncounda Traoré had his full authority to initiate talks with jihadist chiefs Iyad ag Ghaly and Amadou Koufa – after years of government insistence there would be no negotiation with terrorists (AC Vol 61 No 1 Advantage jihadists)...

Meanwhile the special envoy for central Mali former interim head of state Dioncounda Traoré says he has put out feelers to the jihadist leaders Amadou Koufa and Iyad ag Ghaly alarming his Western collaborators...

Meanwhile the Tuareg Iyad ag Ghali's Jamaat Nusrat ul Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) and the home-grown Ansaroul Islam outfit have also been staging fresh attacks...