Al-Qaeda-linked groups are resurging in West Africa’s Sahel, striking Mali’s junta amid a broader regional insurgency. A pan-Islamist network founded in 1988 by Osama bin Laden, aims to wage global jihad.
A Human Rights Watch report reveals that between January 2023 and August 2025, Burkina Faso's government forces and allied militias killed over 1,200 civilians, more than twice the deaths caused by jihadist groups like JNIM. The military targets Fulani communities, resulting in ethnic cleansing and widespread displacement of over 2 million people. Violence and abuses continue amid ongoing jihadist insurgency in the Sahel.
Since late April, al‑Qaida‑linked JNIM and Tuareg separatists have launched coordinated attacks across Mali, seizing Kidal and other northern bases, killing Defence Minister Sadio Camara and setting up checkpoints around Bamako. The junta under Assimi Goita has reassigned defence responsibilities and opened probes into alleged military complicity while Russia's Africa Corps has been pushed back in the north.
Mali's security situation has deteriorated as coordinated attacks on military sites across the country have killed Defence Minister Sadio Camara and disrupted government operations. Russian-linked forces have withdrawn from Kidal, raising questions about external support and the regime's control amid a joint offensive by JNIM and Tuareg groups.
A car bomb and gun battles have left Mali’s defence minister dead, with insurgents led by JNIM and allied Tuareg rebels conducting coordinated attacks across Bamako and several northern and central towns. The government has declared mourning and imposed curfews as international actors call for a regional response.
The weekend assaults by al-Qaeda-linked militants and the Azawad Liberation Front have intensified the security crisis in Mali, with Kidal reportedly under rebel control as Mali and Russian forces withdraw. Officials warn of continued raids and a broader regional danger, while Russia denies a coup claim.
The Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin and allied groups have called for Malians to rise up against the military-led government and to establish Sharia law as security forces report checkpoints around Bamako and the seizure of Tessalit. The statements come after coordinated attacks that killed the defence minister and touched multiple bases nationwide.
Coordinated strikes by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) have killed dozens and sparked a new security crisis in central Mali. The government says it is intensifying operations while vowing dialogue remains off the table.