Daha was born on January 1, 1978, to a Lemhar Arab family in Djebok, Mali.[1][2][3] He was a child when the Tuareg rebellion of the 1990s broke out, but received his first military training during the conflict.[4] Daha claimed to have fought in the 1990s rebellion in clashes between Arabs and Kuntas, and then later between Arabs and Ganda Koy.[4] Before the Mali War broke out in 2012, Daha joined the ranks of MOJWA, becoming a senior officer in the Islamic police of Gao.[5][6] He joined Katiba Osama Bin Laden, led by Ahmed al-Tilemsi.[7] In 2014, Daha claimed to have never fought against the Malian Army.[7] His rationale for joining MOJWA, according to a 2014 interview, was that MOJWA consisted of drug traffickers and those looking for money, and protected them from the MNLA.[7]
Daha served as the leader of the mafia wing of MOJWA, engaging in drug trafficking.[8] He stated in 2014 that he was working with drug traffickers before joining MOJWA.[7] When French forces intervened in Mali through Operation Serval, Daha fled to Algeria, with his house in Gao being looted by residents.[7] Daha joined the Arab Movement of Azawad and Platform in April 2014, becoming one of the military commanders of the movement.[7] That July, he clashed with MNLA, HCUA, and rebel MAA fighters at a military base in Tarkint.[2] He then fought in the Battle of Tabankort in 2014, becoming the military commander of Platform.[9]
Daha was arrested by the French Army on the night between July 28–29, 2014, on suspicion of being involved in a July 14 attack that killed a French soldier. He was questioned for four to five days, and then handed to Malian authorities in Bamako. Daha was released by Mali on August 7.[9][10][11] In an August 2014 interview, Daha reaffirmed his pro-Malian and pro-French positions, but claimed that he believed France was sympathetic to the MNLA.[7]
Daha was arrested in Niamey by Nigerien authorities on December 3, 2015, but was released shortly afterward.[12] The United Nations adopted sanctions against Daha on July 9, 2019, for violating the Algiers Accords. He was banned from traveling outside of Mali in response.[13][3] Daha and his bodyguard were assassinated by unknown men traveling on motorcycles at a camp in Tamkoutat, Gao Region, on February 9, 2020.[3]
MOJWA (2012-2014)
MAA-Loyalist (2014-2020)