By Portia Crowe
DAKAR, May 1 (Reuters) – Al Qaeda-linked insurgents have called on Malians to rise up against the military-led government and transition to Sharia law in a rare French-language statement issued days after carrying out unprecedented attacks across the country.
Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) launched assaults on April 25 in coordination with the Tuareg-dominated rebel group the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), hitting bases throughout the landlocked African country and near the capital Bamako, seizing the town of Kidal and killing the defence minister.
“We call upon all sincere patriots, without exception, to rise up and unite,” the group said in a statement issued late on Thursday and confirmed by the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group.
JNIM, which usually issues written statements in Arabic, wrote in French, the official language in Mali for government and business.
It called for political parties, soldiers, religious authorities, traditional leaders and “all segments of Malian society” to end the “dictatorship” of the government, which it described as a “terrorist junta.”
Mali’s military leaders seized power in back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021.
JNIM has over the past year been on a drive for legitimacy through coercion and strategic engagement with local populations, and has sought to characterise the government as illegitimate.
“Overthrowing the junta is not enough. We must, together, prevent any chaotic vacuum that would plunge our nation into total collapse,” the statement said.
It called for a “peaceful, responsible, and inclusive transition” and for the establishment of Sharia law.
JNIM, which threatened a total blockade on Bamako following the attacks, has established checkpoints on several major arteries leading to the city including from the north and south, three sources told Reuters on Friday.
Mali’s military leader Assimi Goita said in a televised address on Tuesday that the situation was under control, and vowed to “neutralise” the insurgent groups behind the attacks.
(Reporting by Portia Crowe; Additional reporting by David Lewis; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
