US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken made the announcement of designation of five terrorist leaders in Africa. In a statement, Blinken announced that Bonomade Machude Omar, Sidan ag Hitta, Salem Ould Breihmatt, Ali Mohamed Rage, and Abdikadir Mohamed Abdikadir are designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Executive Order 13224, as amended.
The statement noted that the terrorist leaders; Bonomade Machude Omar, also known as Abu Sulayfa Muhammad and Ibn Omar, were in-charge of Military and External Affairs Departments for ISIS province in Mozambique. The two were commanders responsible for coordinated attacks conducted in northern Mozambique.
Bonomade was as well the lead facilitator and communication conduit for the Islamist militant group while Omar led a group of fighters on a deadly attack on Palma in March 2021. Abu Yasir Hassan, also the leader of ISIS-Mozambique, led another group of fighters, and Omar also led the attack on the Amarula Hotel in Palma. Omar has been responsible for attacks in Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique, and Mtwara region of Tanzania.
Sidanag Hitta, also known as Abu Qarwaniand Abu Abdelhakim al-Kidali, is a senior leader and commander responsible for the Kidal Region in Mali within Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM). According to the statement, Hitta was among the group that was responsible for the January 20, 2019, attack on the MINUSMA base in Aguelhoc, Kidal region of Mali. He was also involved for hostages in the same Kidal region, Mali.
Another designated JNIM leader include Salem Ould Breihmatt, also known as Abu Hamza al-Shanqiti and Hamza al-Mauritani. He is a JNIM senior commander and emir of Arbinda and Serma in the Mopti region of Mali. The leader is also charged with the oversight of JNIM in Burkina Faso and is also an explosives expert and instructor.
The US State Department also announced the designation of Ali Mohamed Rage, also known as Sheikh Ali Dheere. Rage is an Al-Shabaab’s spokesman and a senior leader of the Somali-based terrorist group affiliated to Al-Qaeda. Ali Mohamed Rage replaced Sheikh Mukhtar Robow as Al-Shabaab’s top spokesman in May 2009. He has been involved in planning attacks that has targeted areas in Kenya and Somalia.
Another designated Al-Shabaab leader included Abdikadir Mohamed Abdikadir, also known as Ikrima. Abdikadir Mohamed Abdikadir is a facilitator and operational planner for the terrorist group. As of November 2019, Abdikadir was an Al-Shabaab senior commander and served as the Head of Operations and Logistics for the group. Abdikadir had also directed previous attacks and planning for Al-Shabaab.
Following the designation, five terrorist leaders will suffer consequences among them; all property and interests in property belonging to them must be blocked and reported to the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Additionally, persons that engage in certain transactions with the persons designated terrorist figures may themselves be exposed to designation. Besides, any foreign financial institution that knowingly facilitates a significant financial transaction or provides significant financial services for the persons designated today could be subject to U.S. correspondent account or payable-through account sanctions.
The statement finally underscored that the United States is committed to disrupting the financing methods of ISIS-Mozambique, JNIM, and Al-Qaeda associated Al-Shabaab, all of which are designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations and SDGTs by limiting their abilities to conduct further attacks against civilians and supporting US partners in efforts to disrupt terrorism finance.
Addressing the terrorist threat across the continent will require working closely with all counterterrorism partners to degrade the capacity and operations of these terrorist groups, combating their control and influence in West, East, and Southern Africa.
