The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) is reported to be operating a warehouse in Ghana.
This was revealed in the 29th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team on ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities submitted to the UN Security Council Committee.
The document said one of the security council member states reported that warehouses in Ghana, Benin and Togo were being operated by ISGS supporters and were the source of supplies to the group.
The monitoring team further noted that fighters belonging to the group had previously been seen in Benin.
“The loss of senior operatives led to a lack of cohesion among ISGS subgroups, but operations were sustained. For its supplies, one Member State reports that ISGS supporters operate three warehouses in Benin, Ghana and Togo. Fighters have been seen in Tanguiéta, Benin, south of Pendjari National Park,” the report said.
The report estimated the ISGS fighters to be between 400 and 1000 in number, noting that the group’s leader in the tri-border area of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahraoui (QDi.415) was killed on 17 August 2021.
“He was replaced by Abdul Bara al-Sahraoui (alias Abdul Bara al-Ansari alias Abu Omarou, not listed), an experienced logistician who operated previously in Libya. Several Member States report that, in October, in the town of Akabir, Mali, he met with a delegation of ISIL leaders who had travelled from the ISIL core area to assess and orient ISIL affiliates in the Sahel and Nigeria, which are part of the same regional network.”
“After several operational setbacks, ISGS and its combatants, which number between 400 and 1,000, adopted a more defensive posture in the Liptako area in the Niger, with the objective of extending towards Niamey and Tahoua. Although the group previously attacked military camps, ISGS operations are now focused on soft civilian targets.”