Adnan Abu Walid Al-Sahrawi
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Lehbib Ould Ali Ould Said Ould Yumani (; 16 February 1973 – 17 August 2021), also known by the ''
nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...
'' Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi (), was a Sahrawi Islamist militant and the first
Emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...
of the
Islamic State – Sahel Province The Islamic State – Sahel Province (ISSP), formerly known as Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (IS-GS), is an Islamist militant group adhering to the ideology of Salafi Jihadism. IS-GS was formed on 15 May 2015 as the result of a split within ...
.


Biography

Al-Sahrawi was born in
Laayoune Laayoune or El Aaiún (, Latn, ar, al-ʕuyūn , , ) is the largest city of the disputed territory of Western Sahara, with a population of 271,344 in 2023. The city is the ''de jure'' capital of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, though it ...
,
Western Sahara Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...
(then known as the
Spanish Sahara Spanish Sahara (; ), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958, then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used for the modern territory of Western Sahara when it was occupied and ruled by Spain bet ...
) into a wealthy trading family that fled the city for
refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary Human settlement, settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for in ...
s in Algeria. He joined the
Polisario Front The Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro (Spanish language, Spanish: ; ), better known by its acronym Polisario Front, is a Sahrawi nationalism, Sahrawi nationalist liberation movement seeking to end the occupatio ...
and received military training, but he demobilised amid promises of a
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
referendum on the status of Western Sahara. He studied social sciences at the Mentouri University of Constantine, from which he graduated in 1997. A year later he joined the
Sahrawi Youth Union Sahrawi Youth Union (; ), also known by its Spanish acronym UJSARIO, is the youth organization of the Polisario Front. Organization UJSARIO was founded in 1984 through the merger of Unión de Estudiantes Saharauis (Sahrawi Students' Union or UES ...
. In 2004, said to be suffering from health problems and depression, he turned to Islam after contact with students from the Ibn Abbas Institute in
Nouakchott Nouakchott ( ) is the capital and largest city of Mauritania. Located in the southwestern part of the country, it is one of the largest cities in the Sahara. The city also serves as the administrative and economic center of Mauritania. Once a ...
. Around November 2010, he left
Tindouf Tindouf () is the main town, and a Communes of Algeria, commune in Tindouf Province, Algeria, close to the Algeria–Mauritania border, Mauritanian, Algeria–Western Sahara border, Western Saharan and Algeria–Morocco border, Moroccan borders. Th ...
in Algeria for northern Mali and joined the Katiba Tarik ibn Zayd, a unit of
al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (, ), or AQIM, is an Islamist militant organization (of al-Qaeda) that aims to overthrow the Algerian government and institute an Islamic state. To that end, it was then engaged in an insurgency ...
. In October 2011, he was part of the group that founded the
Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (abbreviated MOJWA) or the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (abbreviated MUJWA; ''Jamāʿat at-tawḥīd wal-jihād fī gharb ʾafrīqqīyā''; , abbreviated MUJAO), was a militant Is ...
, alongside the Malian Ahmed al-Tilemsi and Sultan Ould Bady, as well as the
Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...
n Hamada Ould Mohamed Kheirou. While part of MUJWA/MUJAO, he was one of its most senior leaders, serving on its
Shura Shura () is the term for collective decision-making in Islam. It can, for example, take the form of a council or a referendum. The Quran encourages Muslims to decide their affairs in consultation with each other. Shura is mentioned as a praise ...
council and communicating with international media as MUJWA's spokesman. By 2013, he was calling himself the leader of an organisation named the Mujahideen Shura Council in
Gao Gao (or Gawgaw/Kawkaw) is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley. For much of its history Gao was an imp ...
, Mali. After MUJAO merged with
Mokhtar Belmokhtar Mokhtar Belmokhtar (; ;pronounced in Algerian Arabic as 1 June 1972 – November 2016), also known as Khalid Abu al-Abbas, the One-Eyed, Nelson, and the Uncatchable, was an Algerian leader of the group Al-Murabitoun, former military commander ...
's Al-Mulathameen group in August 2013 to form
Al-Mourabitoun The Independent Nasserite Movement – INM () or simply Al-Murabitoun ( lit. ''The Steadfast''), also termed variously Independent Nasserite Organization (INO) or Movement of Independent Nasserists (MIN), is a Nasserist political party in Leban ...
, he was an important leader in Al-Murabitoun, later becoming its overall head. In March 2012, he was leading a group in control of the town of Askia. On 13 May 2015, Abu Walid declared his allegiance to
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri (28 July 1971 – 27 October 2019), commonly known by his ''nom de guerre'' Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was an Iraqi militant leader who was the founder and first leader of the Islamic State (IS), who proclaimed hims ...
, leader of the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...
, and formed the
Islamic State in the Greater Sahara Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
. Not all of Al-Mourabitoun accepted the move, with Mokhtar Belmokhtar denying that al-Murabitoun had pledged to Baghdadi, causing a split in the group. More than a year and a half later, the allegiance was publicly accepted by ISIS's
Amaq News Agency Amaq News Agency () is a news outlet linked to the Islamic State (IS). Amaq is often the "first point of publication for claims of responsibility" for terrorist attacks in Western countries by the Islamic State. In March 2019, Amaq News Agency w ...
. In May 2016, he was reported to have issued threats against the
government of Morocco The Cabinet of Morocco is the chief executive body of the Kingdom of Morocco. The Cabinet is composed of some 24 ministers including 5 "Minister Delegates". It is headed by the Prime Minister since August 2011, who is appointed by the King of Moro ...
. In June 2017, al-Sahrawi accused the Imghad and Idaksahak communities of defending
Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...
and France and threatened retaliation against them. In October 2017, he led the Tongo Tongo ambush against Nigerien and United States soldiers outside the village of
Tongo Tongo Tongo Tongo () is a village in the rural commune (municipality) of Tondikiwindi (also ''Tondi Kiwindi''), Ouallam Department, Tillabéri Region in southwestern Niger, 174 km north of the nation's capital Niamey and 28 km south of the ...
, Niger. On 4 October 2019, the United States offered a $5 million reward under the
Rewards for Justice Rewards for Justice Program (RFJ) is United States Department of State's national security interagency program that offers reward for information leading to the location or an arrest of leaders of terrorist groups, financiers of terrorism, inclu ...
program for information on his whereabouts.


Death

Al-Sahrawi was killed by French forces in the
Sahel The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...
on 17 August 2021. After captured IS-GS members provided information on al-Sahrawi's likely hiding places, the assassination was conducted using a drone in the Dangalous Forest, located near Indelimane village in northern Mali and near the border with Niger, according to the Chief of the Defence Staff
Thierry Burkhard Thierry Burkhard (; born 30 July 1964) is a French Army general who has served as Chief of the Defence Staff (France), Chief of the Defence Staff since 22 July 2021. Prior to his appointment to the top post, Burkhard previously served as Chief of ...
. Burkhard added that al-Sahrawi was travelling on a motorcycle with another person when he was killed. A unit comprising 20 soldiers of the French Army's special forces was then sent to confirm the identities of those killed and found that the strike had killed ten IS-GS members. The announcement was delayed while Al-Sahrawi's identity was confirmed. French President
Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...
announced his death on 15 September. ISIS confirmed al-Sahrawi's death in October 2021.


Personal life

Al-Sahrawi was said to have married a
Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, ...
woman, in order to better integrate with cross-border communities.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sahrawi, Adnan Abu Walid 1973 births 2021 deaths Assassinated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant members Leaders of jihadist groups People from Laayoune Sahrawi Islamists Sahrawi rebels Deaths by French drone strikes People killed in French intelligence operations