Thread by @MENASTREAM

#Sahel: Today, #JNIM released the video "If they fight you, fight them". It's been almost three years since JNIM released their last full-length video with combat footage, namely "And the Battle Continues".

#Sahel: This could be explained by several factors: First, the focus has been on the political line; second, JNIM's official media presence has declined significantly, and this is against the backdrop of several key media figures (in #Algeria and #Mali) being killed

#Sahel: The decline is particularly relevant when compared to #ISGS, which received major boost from its formal integration into #IslamicState's organizational infrastructure & media apparatus. However, this last video marks the effective recovery of #JNIM media wing Al-Zallaqa.

#Sahel: In terms of communications, the video (re)anchors #JNIM in the orbit of #AlQaeda and emphasizes the connections within Al-Qaeda as a whole — vertically JNIM-#AQIM-AQGC and horizontally #Taliban-#AlShabaab-#AQAP-JNIM/AQIM, in itself nothing out of the ordinary.

#Sahel: What is kind of striking is how much it focuses on #Mali; #BurkinaFaso and #Niger are left out, while this has been the case throughout #JNIM's existence, yet these segments of the organization still do not seem to be well-integrated into JNIM's lines of effort.

#Sahel: Clearly it is difficult to build and maintain cohesion over such a large space, there seems to be a rift and communication problems between #JNIM in #Mali and East Burkina (including Yagha).

#Sahel: As evidenced by the denial and condemnation of #Solhan and related follow-up.

https://twitter.com/MENASTREAM/status/1402242166840303616?s=20

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https://twitter.com/MENASTREAM/status/1412853503559704577?s=20

#Sahel: In addition to the communications surrounding #Solhan, #JNIM never officially (publicly) embraced the #Natiaboani ambush

https://twitter.com/MENASTREAM/status/1387073170969088006?s=20

#Sahel: Interestingly, the Ghanaian suicide bomber in Gossi addressed at length one of the commanders ("Mouslimou") in eastern Burkina Faso, as part of an attempt at broader outreach, video was only circulated locally though, an official claim followed

https://twitter.com/MENASTREAM/status/1408842371228385285?s=20

#Sahel: But most would agree that the two suicide bombers respectively perpetrating the Gossi & Tarkint attacks are mixed up. By examining the Ghanaian's speech you would notice how illogical it would be for him to have carried out the Tarkint attack

https://twitter.com/SimNasr/status/1411037958484934656?s=20

#Sahel: Anyway, several dead leaders are praised (again), including Abu Iyad al-Tunisi, Abu Musab Yahya Abu al-Humam, Abu Musab Abd al-Wadud, Abu Dujana al-Qasimi,..

#Sahel: ..and Tunisian jihadi poet and tutor Sha'ir al-Qayrawani, who wrote nasheeds sung by #KUBN fighters in #Tunisia in a 2017 clip entitled "Gift from the Sahara to the Lions of al-Qayrawan".

https://twitter.com/MENASTREAM/status/878690443638308865?s=20

#Sahel: Video shows operations from past one-year-period, beginning with the major attack against #FAMa in Tarkint.

https://twitter.com/MENASTREAM/status/1241132158892285959?s=20

#Sahel: Lots of indirect fire, including the "Supporting the Messenger of God"-campaign (which also comprised a series of IED attacks & SVBIED attacks), where bases in Gao, Kidal, Menaka and Tessalit were attacked simultaneously in late November 2020.

#Sahel: For rundown of the weapons, see @CalibreObscura, he's your guy when it comes to the tools

https://twitter.com/CalibreObscura/status/1413553920702439426?s=20

@CalibreObscura #Sahel: Moreover, the importance of the Serma base camp is unignorable, see geolocation by @Yaolri

https://twitter.com/Yaolri/status/977374110245322752?s=20

@CalibreObscura @Yaolri #Sahel: As evidenced by the suicide attacks in Issey against #Barkhane and in Kerena against #MINUSMA, as well as the attack on the #FAMa base in Boni.

#Sahel: Last but not least, what I think is the most interesting sequence in the entire video, lasting only one second at 3:34, and because it represents the continuity of #AQIM's efforts, functional specialization, and embedded management

https://twitter.com/MENASTREAM/status/1311379879909380098?s=20

#Sahel: Likely Algerian #AQIM veteran, weapons/explosives expert and trainer of the #Timbuktu Emirate, possible name is Abdelhamid El Messaoudi. End.

"If they fight you, kill them"..*