Insurgency in the Maghreb

Insurgency in the Maghreb

Part of the Global War on Terrorism

Date

2002 – present

Location

Maghreb, Sahara desert, Sahel

Status

Insurgency in Algeria spreads through the Maghreb and Sahel
US-led Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara initiated in 2007
Islamists capture northern Mali in 2012, until largely fought back by French-led Operation Serval in 2013
UN peacekeeping mission MINUSMA, African-led AFISMA deployed to Mali
French-led Operation Barkhane across the Sahel begins 2014
Chaambi Operations and ISIL insurgency in Tunisia
ISIL captures territory in Libyan Civil War, largely fought back by 2016

Belligerents

Algeria
Mauritania
Tunisia
Libya
Mali
MINUSMA (from 2013)
AFISMA (from 2013)
Niger
Chad
France
Limited involvement:
Morocco
Burkina Faso
Ivory Coast
Senegal
Spain
Supported by:
United States (AFRICOM)

GSPC (until 2007)
AQIM (from 2007)
MOJWA (2011–13)
Al-Mourabitoun (2013–17)
Ansar Dine (2012–17)
Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (from 2017)
Ansar al-Sharia (Tunisia) (from 2011)
Uqba ibn Nafi Brigade (from 2012)
Ansar al-Sharia (Libya) (from 2012)
Salafia Jihadia
Boko Haram (from 2006, part of ISIL since 2015)

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (from 2014)

Commanders and leaders

Abdelaziz Bouteflika

Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (until 2011)

Beji Caid Essebsi

Amadou Toumani Touré (until 2012)

Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta

Michael Lollesgaard
Abdulkadir Shehu

Mahamadou Issoufou

François Hollande

King Mohammed VI

Roch Marc Christian Kaboré

George W. Bush (until 2009)

Barack Obama (until 2017)

Donald Trump (from 2017)

David M. Rodriguez (until 2016)

Thomas D. Waldhauser

Amari Saifi (POW)
Nabil Sahraoui †
Abdelmalek Droukdel
Abdelhamid Abou Zeid †
Omar Ould Hamaha †
Mokhtar Belmokhtar
Iyad Ag Ghaly
Ahmed al Tilemsi †
Seifallah Ben Hassine †
Mohamed al-Zahawi †

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (Leader of ISIL)
Abu Nabil al-Anbari †
Abdel Qader al-Najdi
Abu Musab al-Barnawi (POW)

Gouri Abdelmalek †

Strength

Total armed forces (unless specified):
Algeria: 520,000
Mauritania: 15,870
Tunisia: 45,000; 6,000 deployed in Chaambi
Libya: 35,000
Mali: 7,350
MINUSMA: 9,754
AFISMA: 2,900
Niger: 12,000
Chad: 30,350
France: 4,000 deployed in the Sahel
Supported by:

United States: 1,325+ advisors, trainers

AQIM (former GSPC): 1,000–4,000
MOJWA: ~500
Al-Mourabitoun: Fewer than 100
Ansar Dine: 300–10,000
Ansar al-Sharia (Tunisia): 1,000
Ansar al-Sharia (Libya): 5,000+
Salafia Jihadia: 700+

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Libyan Provinces: 5,000–10,000
Wilayat Gharb Ifriqiyyah: 6,000–20,000
Wilayat al-Jazair: Fewer than 30

Casualties and losses

Major conflict casualties:

2002: 1,100+ killed in Algeria
2003: 1,162 killed in Algeria
2004: 429 killed in Algeria
2005: 488 killed in Algeria
2006: 323 killed in Algeria

Algeria: 3,502+ total killed (2002–06)
Mali: 1,689+ killed (2012–14)

Libya: 2,440+ killed, 4,000+ wounded (2016)

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