Radisson Blu Hotel attack in Mali

waltky · Nov 21, 2015

What's the rivalry between ISIS and Al-Qaida all about?...

A look at the rivalry between al-Qaida and IS
Nov 21,`15 -- The attack on a Mali hotel claimed by al-Qaida may have been partly aimed at asserting the global terror network's relevance as it faces an unprecedented challenge from the Islamic State group for leadership of the global jihadi movement.

Both groups are at war with the West and committed to the revival of an Islamic caliphate, but they are furiously divided over strategy and leadership, and have battled one another in Syria. The attack on the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, which killed 19 people, came exactly a week after the IS group's carnage in Paris, which killed 130 people in the bloodiest attack on France in decades. The Mali attack, claimed by al-Qaida and a North African outfit known as Al-Mourabitoun (The Sentinels), may have been aimed at disrupting a fragile peace process with armed groups in the country's north that had made progress in recent months.

Mali troopers assist a hostage to leave the Radisson Blu hotel to safety after gunmen attacked the hotel, in Bamako, Mali. The al-Qaida-claimed attack on a Mali hotel may have been partly aimed at asserting the global terror networks relevance as it faces an unprecedented challenge from the Islamic State group for leadership of the global jihadi movement. While the two groups share similar goals they have been bitterly divided over strategy and leadership, and have come to blows in Syria.

But experts also suggested it was aimed at reminding the world that the movement founded by Osama bin Laden has not been completely eclipsed by the IS group and its self-styled caliphate. "Al-Qaida and its international affiliates have been surpassed by IS and needed to show that that they are still there," said Djallil Lounnes, an expert on radical groups in the Sahara who is based in Morocco. The following is a look at the rivalry between al-Qaida and the Islamic State group:

ORIGINS

The Islamic State group began as al-Qaida in Iraq, a local affiliate that battled U.S. troops and carried out massive attacks targeting the country's Shiite majority. From the beginning there were tensions between the local group, led by the Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and al-Qaida's central leadership. In a 2005 letter obtained and publicized by U.S. intelligence, bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, objected to al-Zarqawi's brutality toward Shiite civilians, saying it would turn Muslims against the group. Al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. airstrike in 2006, but to this day is seen as the founder of the Islamic State group, which has eagerly embraced his brutal tactics.

RUPTURE

In 2013, Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi renamed his group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, proclaiming his authority in Iraq and neighboring Syria. Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of the Nusra Front, al-Qaida's Syrian affiliate, rejected the move and swore allegiance to al-Zawahri, who ordered al-Baghdadi to confine his operations to Iraq. Al-Baghdadi refused, and by 2014 the Nusra Front and the Islamic State group were battling each other across northern Syria. The split reverberated across the Muslim world, with al-Qaida affiliates in Yemen and North Africa remaining loyal to al-Zawahri while others pledged allegiance to the IS group.

DIFFERENCES
Click to expand...

waltky · Nov 15, 2017

A move likely to disappoint allies...

Canada will not send peacekeepers to Mali in near future: officials
November 15, 2017 - Canada will not be sending hundreds of peacekeepers to support a United Nations mission in Mali in the near future, officials said on Wednesday, a move likely to disappoint allies who want Canadians to play a role in the West African country.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau operations and Canadian defense experts paid three trips to Mali, where soldiers under the U.N. are fighting Islamist militants. Canada has decided to split the soldiers between various missions, with no more than 200 going to any one spot, and will offer up transport aircraft and helicopters. It is also pledging to help train peacekeepers. Any deployment would depend on talks with the United Nations that are likely to last many months, officials told reporters in a telephone briefing, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The option of sending forces to Mali one day is still alive, said one of the officials. The planning process takes at least six months “so you’re not going to going to see some kind of rapid deployment to any mission, let alone a complex one like Mali,” official said. At a separate conference on U.N. peacekeeping efforts, Trudeau sidestepped questions about the likely international reaction, saying the varied measures Canada was proposing would serve the U.N. better. “These are the things that actually create much larger impacts than the simple number of troops ... the U.N. often needs specialized equipment or specialized individuals,” Trudeau said.

Unhappy allies, earlier this year said Canada’s bid for a U.N. Security Council seat could suffer unless Trudeau lived up to his promises. “This approach will be a disappointment to some, and the Canadian government will have to work hard to overcome the credibility it has lost in not following through on its initial pledge,” said Jane Boulden, a security studies expert at Queen’s University in Kingston.

Government insiders said enthusiasm for the Mali mission faded as the extent of likely casualties and the complex nature of the conflict became clear. More than 80 members have been killed since 2013, making Mali the world’s deadliest peacekeeping operation. “Going somewhere for a very short period of time and leaving without having achieved anything ... may be worse than actually going somewhere,” said the official.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...o-mali-in-near-future-officials-idUSKBN1DF2XG
Click to expand...

Log in or Sign up

Radisson Blu Hotel attack in Mali

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Radisson Blu Hotel attack in Mali

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

Share This Page

Useful Searches