The Al Mulathaman Battalion (AMB), also known as Those Who Sign in Blood Brigade and is a child of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The AMB is considered by the U.S. State Department as “the greatest near-term threat to U.S. and Western interests in the Sahel.” (United States Department of State, 2016) Mokhtar Belmokhtar, an AQIM cell leader, claimed to take the best fighters from AQIM to create an organization to continue the fight against western interests, spread jihad and establish Shariah law in North Africa, founded the AMB. Mokhtar operated the AMB as a semi-autonomous for months, even though the AMB did not formally split from AQIM until December 2012. In 2012, The AMB became heavily involved in conflict in Mali after the Malian
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The AMB utilizes complex attacks comprised of small arms attacks, car bombings, and suicide attacks to weaken their targets. The AMB also uses kidnappings and hostage taking to make demands that support their goals. Most recent attacks have been in response to French activity in Mali. In January 2014, the AMB took control of a British Petroleum gas plant near Amenas, Algeria. The AMB attacked the plant in retaliation against Algeria for allowing France to utilize their air space, launching air strikes into northern Mali. The AMB took 800 hostages, using them to demand the release of French captured Islamist fighters in Mali, as well as a cease to French air strikes in the country. On May 23, 2013, the AMB and Mouvement pour l’Unification et le Jihad en Afrique de l’Ouest (MUJAO) used suicide bombings against a military camp in Agedez, Niger and a French-run uranium mine in Arlit, Niger. These attacks killed 24 people and wounded 20 more. On June 1 2013, the AMB and MUJAO attacked a prison in Niamey, Niger with small arms attacks. This was in retaliation to Niger’s military intervention in northern Mali. This attack killed two people and wounded three …show more content…
The Tuareg, first inhabited the region back in the fifth century and have long viewed northern Mali,parts of Mauritania, Algeria, and Niger as their homeland (Douglas-Bowers, 2013). For centuries, the Tuareg experience a life of riches and success by controlling trade and the networks of caravans traveling through the region. The Tuareg people who live in northern Mali have struggled for independence, since France first colonized the country. The Tuareg launched three different rebellions against the French colonial government and later the Malian government; none of which were successful. The most recent Tuareg uprisings was in 2012, which turned the northern part of the country, known locally at the Azawad, into a safe haven for insurgent and terrorist organizations who had long been trying to turn the Azawad into an Islamic state (Wojtanik, 2015). Terrorist organizations flocked to the region to support the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (NMLA), the Tuareg anti-government group. This outside influence turned the latest Tuareg uprising into what Devan Douglas-Bowers called “insurgency that kidnapped and killed members of the Malian
The AMB utilizes complex attacks comprised of small arms attacks, car bombings, and suicide attacks to weaken their targets. The AMB also uses kidnappings and hostage taking to make demands that support their goals. Most recent attacks have been in response to French activity in Mali. In January 2014, the AMB took control of a British Petroleum gas plant near Amenas, Algeria. The AMB attacked the plant in retaliation against Algeria for allowing France to utilize their air space, launching air strikes into northern Mali. The AMB took 800 hostages, using them to demand the release of French captured Islamist fighters in Mali, as well as a cease to French air strikes in the country. On May 23, 2013, the AMB and Mouvement pour l’Unification et le Jihad en Afrique de l’Ouest (MUJAO) used suicide bombings against a military camp in Agedez, Niger and a French-run uranium mine in Arlit, Niger. These attacks killed 24 people and wounded 20 more. On June 1 2013, the AMB and MUJAO attacked a prison in Niamey, Niger with small arms attacks. This was in retaliation to Niger’s military intervention in northern Mali. This attack killed two people and wounded three …show more content…
The Tuareg, first inhabited the region back in the fifth century and have long viewed northern Mali,parts of Mauritania, Algeria, and Niger as their homeland (Douglas-Bowers, 2013). For centuries, the Tuareg experience a life of riches and success by controlling trade and the networks of caravans traveling through the region. The Tuareg people who live in northern Mali have struggled for independence, since France first colonized the country. The Tuareg launched three different rebellions against the French colonial government and later the Malian government; none of which were successful. The most recent Tuareg uprisings was in 2012, which turned the northern part of the country, known locally at the Azawad, into a safe haven for insurgent and terrorist organizations who had long been trying to turn the Azawad into an Islamic state (Wojtanik, 2015). Terrorist organizations flocked to the region to support the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (NMLA), the Tuareg anti-government group. This outside influence turned the latest Tuareg uprising into what Devan Douglas-Bowers called “insurgency that kidnapped and killed members of the Malian