French troops arrest high ranking Islamic State fighter in Mali

Dadi Ould Chouaib, also known as Abou Dardar, was arrested June 11 in the “tri-border” region between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.

CAPE TOWN, June 18 (ANA) – French forces in Mali have arrested a high ranking Islamic State fighter, AFP reported, citing a statement on Wednesday from the French military.

The news agency said Dadi Ould Chouaib, also known as Abou Dardar, was arrested June 11 in the “tri-border” region between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, the site of frequent attacks by extremist groups.

According to the military statement, he was located during a helicopter sweep as part of a joint mission between troops from France’s Barkhane operation and Nigerien forces.

French forces are in Mali as part of Operation Barkhane, a 5,100-strong military mission to root out violent jihadists in the Sahel region of West Africa.

Despite the French presence and a 13,000-strong UN peacekeeping force in Mali, the conflict that erupted in the north of that country in 2012 has since spread to its neighbours, especially Burkina Faso and Niger.

The troops are mostly focused on tackling armed groups in Burkina Faso, Chad and Niger.

President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday that France would end its years-long anti-terror mission targeting Islamists in the Sahel, CNN reported.

The operation, which was launched in 2014, has relatively little to show for its efforts, according to the Conversation, a network of not-for-profit media outlets.

It said domestic support in France for Operation Barkhane dropped below 50% for the first time earlier this year. Still, French leaders continue to view their country as an essential security provider in Africa.

The New Humanitarian, an independent, non-profit news agency focusing on humanitarian stories, said the conflict in the northern and central regions of Mali had forced 370,000 people from their homes and compounded existing problems of food insecurity, rural poverty, and deadly community tensions.

– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa