Mali's military government on Thursday offered a $3.5 million reward for information leading to the arrest or killing of the leader of Al-Qaeda's Sahel branch.
Iyad Ag Ghaly, head of the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), is the region's most wanted man as the leader of the biggest militant force battling the juntas ruling many of the Sahel states.
Ghaly, a former Malian diplomat and Tuareg rebel, is also on the US terrorist list and the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant. Since its creation in 2017, his JNIM has been blamed for a number of daring attacks on the military authorities.
In a statement read on national television, the military-run security ministry offered a two billion CFA francs ($3.5 million) bounty for information helping the "capture or neutralization" of Ghaly and $2.5 million for one of his deputies, Amadou Kouffa. According to AFP, it also offered cash for intelligence on two Tuareg rebel leaders.
"These individuals are actively sought by the authorities for their alleged involvement in the planning, organization and execution of terrorist acts that have threatened the safety of people and their property within the national territory," the statement said.
Mali has been confronted by nearly a decade and a half of unrest led by the JNIM and fighters associated with ISIS, as well as by criminal gangs. The country has been ruled by the military since a 2020 coup.
