OVERVIEW

Macina Liberation Front flag

The Macina Liberation Front (MLF), a.k.a. Katiba Macina, is an al-Qa‘ida–aligned armed group that seeks to expel western influence and establish an Islamic state in the Sahel. A radical Fulani preacher, Amadou Kouffa, founded the MLF in 2015 in an attempt to resurrect the 19th century Peuhl Empire of Macina. In 2017, the MLF merged with three other extremist groups to form Jama‘at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM). The MLF is a key component in JNIM, accounting for a plurality of violent events observed in the Sahel in 2021.

OPERATING AREAS
Based primarily in central Mali; has expanded operations into Niger and Burkina Faso; Western and local governments are concerned by the group’s nascent efforts targeting coastal West African states.

MEMBERS
Unknown

TACTICS AND TARGETS
The MLF conducts attacks against civilian targets; symbols of the Malian state including religious sites, schools, and government buildings;and Malian security and defense forces. The group also targets French troops and UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINSUMA). Fighters employ small arms, machine guns, landmines, mortars, and IEDs for attacks. The MLF uses targeted assassinations and kidnappings for ransom of local authorities to reduce resistance and to finance group activities.

FOREIGN TERRORIST GROUP DESIGNATION
The US State Department has not designated the MLF as a foreign terrorist organization independent of JNIM, which it designated as a foreign terrorist organization on 6 September 2018. The US State Department designated Kouffa as a specially designated global terrorist on 7 November 2019.

KEY LEADERS

NOTABLE ATTACKS