Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa
| Monotheism and Jihad Movement in West Africa | |
|---|---|
|
جماعة التوحيد والجهاد في غرب أفريقيا Jamāʿat at-tawḥīd wal-jihād fī gharb ʾafrīqqīyā Participant in Insurgency in the Maghreb and the Northern Mali conflict |
|
| Active | October 2011–2013 |
| Leaders | Hamada Ould Mohamed Kheirou (Alias Abu Qumqum) |
| Area of operations |
 Algeria Mali Niger
|
| Originated as | Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb |
| Became | Al-Mourabitoun |
| Allies |
 Ansar DineAl-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb |
| Battles and wars | |
The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (abbreviated MOJWA) or the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (abbreviated MUJWA; Arabic: جماعة التوحيد والجهاد في غرب أفريقيا Jamāʿat at-tawḥīd wal-jihād fī gharb ʾafrīqqīyā;French: Mouvement pour l'unicité et le jihad en Afrique de l'Ouest, abbreviated MUJAO), was a militant Islamist organisation that broke off from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb with the intended goal of spreading jihad across a larger section of West Africa, though its operations were largely limited to southern Algeria and northern Mali. The group continued to be affiliated with AQIM and was sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council in 2012.
One faction of the group merged with Mokhtar Belmokhtar's Masked Men Brigade into a new group called Al-Mourabitoun in 2013.
The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) broke with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in mid-2011 with the alleged goal of spreading jihad further into areas of West Africa that were not within the scope of AQIM. Some analysts believe that the split of the Black African-led MOJWA is a consequence of the Algerian predominance on AQIM's leadership. The group released a video that referenced their ideological affinity for such figures as Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar but placed greater emphasis on historical figures of West African origin, claiming to be the "ideological descendants" of Cheikhou Amadou, Usman Dan Fodio and El Hadj Umar Tall. "Today we are inaugurating jihad in West Africa" claimed one of the militants, who spoke in English and Hausa.Al-Qaeda-affiliated groups in Algeria, Mali, Niger and Mauritania had been present for at least a decade prior to the group's founding and escalated further following the 2011 Libyan civil war and the influx of weapons in the desert area.
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