Terrorist group leader active in Sahel region surrenders to Algerian army

The Algerian Ministry of Defence announced on Friday that one of the leaders of a terrorist group active in the African Sahel has surrendered to the military authorities in Tamanrasset, the province bordering on Niger and Mali.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry, which Anadolu obtained a copy of, “a dangerous terrorist, who was a leader of one of the terrorist groups in the Sahel region, surrendered himself to the military authorities in Tamanrasset (southeast). He was called “Al-Arabi Khalifa” nicknamed “Abu Ayyub,” and had a Kalashnikov machine gun and full-blown ammunition.

The statement explained that this terrorist “joined the terrorist groups in 2010,” without mentioning the name of the group he is affiliated with.

In its statement, the Ministry called on “the remaining terrorists to take advantage of existing legal measures, like many who have surrendered to the security authorities.”

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Algeria has several terrorist militants in groups active in the African Sahel region.

The number of militants who have surrendered since the beginning of this year is 26, most of who were active in northern Mali, northern Niger and south-west Libya.

For months, the Algerian army has opened safe corridors for terrorists active in the Sahel to surrender, within the framework of the country’s national reconciliation policy.