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Ansar al-Dine's Criminal Enterprise
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Ansar al-Dine's Criminal Enterprise

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Elena Martynova's avatar
Elena Martynova
Apr 13, 2023
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Ansar al-Dine's Criminal Enterprise
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Last fall, we looked at Katibat Macina – a jihadist group active in the African Sahel. Similar to Katibat Macina, Ansar al-Dine is a terrorist organization based in Mali. The group is affiliated with Jama’at Nusrat Al-Islam Wa Al-Muslimeen (JNIM) - an umbrella coalition of al-Qaeda aligned groups in the region. Ansar al-Dine is infamous for its contribution to the instability in the Sahel, as well as for its destruction of World Heritage Sites in Timbuktu. In this article, we’ll outline what we know about Ansar al-Dine’s finances.

Insight Intelligence
Who is Katibat Macina?
Katibat Macina, also known as the Macina Liberation Front, is one of the many jihadist groups active in the African Sahel. Responsible for attacks against Malian security forces, UN Peacekeepers, French troops and civilians, the group is dubbed “Mali’s equivalent to Boko Haram…
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2 years ago · 4 likes · Elena Martynova

Origins and Operations

Ansar al-Dine, translated as “Defenders of the Faith” was formed by Iyad ag Ghali in 2011 and emerged as a powerful militant force in the Sahel. The group was initially active in Kidal and the Timbuktu region. State military activity eventually pushed the group and its allies out of northern Mali. Nonetheless, Kidal and the border region with Algeria eventually became a center of operations for Ansar al-Dine again. They further carried out attacks in the Timbuktu, Segou, Sikasso, Koulikoro, and Gao regions of Mali.

Many of Ansar al-Dine’s militants belonged to the Tuareg ethnic group and came from Mali, Algeria, and Nigeria. As Ansar al-Dine has now been amalgamated into JNIM, the exact number of original group members is unknown. One estimate places membership before the amalgamation to be around 500.

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