The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) has origins dating back to October 2011, when Hamad al-Khairy and Ahmed el-Tilemsi founded it as an offshoot of al-Qa’ida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM).[2] Both men had previously been affiliated with AQLIM, with Tilemsi aiding in the January 2011 kidnapping of two French nationals in Niger and Khairy assisting in the December 2008 abduction of Canadian Ambassador Robert Fowler in Niger.[3]
Since its founding, MUJAO has taken responsibility for the October 2011 kidnapping of European aid workers in Nigeria.[4] In June 2014, the United States responded to these actions, issuing two $5 million bounties for the captures of Khairy and Tilemsi,[5] though neither the United States nor any other country formally recognize MUJAO as a terrorist organization.[6] In 2012, MUJAO, along with AQLIM and Ansar al-Dine, took control of the Malian cities of Timbuktu, Gao, and Kidal, although French and Malian soldiers reclaimed these territories by November 2013.[7] In August 2013, MUJAO merged with the Masked Men Brigade to form Al-Murabitoun,[8] which was designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey on June 19, 2014.[9] View full narrative