Latest news with #JNIM
Daily Maverick
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Urgent need for Mali, Mauritania and Senegal to unite against cross-border terrorism
The threat of a terrorist blockade of Mali's Kayes and Nioro towns would be disastrous for all three countries. Western Mali, bordering Mauritania and Senegal, is increasingly a target for terrorist attacks. Given the strategic importance of this area for the three countries' economies and security, strengthened cooperation is essential to curb the growing threat. On 1 July, the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama'at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) launched seven simultaneous attacks against Malian army positions in Niono, Molodo, Sandaré, Nioro du Sahel, Gogui, Kayes and Diboli. After suffering significant losses, JNIM threatened to blockade the towns of Kayes and Nioro in retaliation for their residents' alleged support for the army. Beyond immediate security and humanitarian challenges, such a blockade would have disastrous socioeconomic consequences — not only for the towns, but for Senegal and Mauritania, which share this vital cross-border area with Mali. The Kayes region is Mali's main supply route, hosting numerous industrial and mining operations. Worsening security could disrupt trade with neighbouring countries and harm national economic growth, particularly in the mining sector, which is critical for Mali's balance of payments and tax revenues. Blockades in Kayes and Nioro would also disrupt the Dakar-Bamako and Nouakchott-Bamako trade corridors. The Dakar-Bamako road is a key trade axis between Mali and Senegal. The Port of Dakar, through which 70% of Mali's imports and exports transit, serves as a natural gateway for this landlocked country. In 2024, Mali accounted for 20.54% of Senegal's exports, valued at 802.75 billion CFA francs, underscoring the corridor's strategic importance. Goods transported along this road from Senegal to Mali include food and agricultural products, petroleum products and construction materials such as cement. Similarly, the Nouakchott-Bamako corridor — revitalised after the 2022 trade and economic partnership agreement between Mali and Mauritania — facilitates the movement of goods through the Port of Nouakchott. A reduction of trade along these two corridors would also have social repercussions for all three countries, including job losses in sectors such as transport, logistics and transit. The intensification of JNIM's activities in the Kayes region could also disrupt gold mining. Gold accounts for 25% of Mali's national budget and 75% of its export revenues. Kayes is Mali's main gold-mining zone, contributing 78% of industrial gold production. The region also houses the Manantali, Félou and Gouina hydroelectric dams, which supply electricity to Mali, Mauritania, Senegal and Guinea. Any blockade in Kayes would threaten the optimal functioning of these vital facilities. The recent attacks in Kayes illustrate the complexity of the security challenges confronting Mali and its two neighbours. A multifaceted and coordinated response involving all three countries is now imperative. Cross-border cooperation mechanism On the security front, a cross-border cooperation mechanism has existed since 2007. Tripartite meetings between the commanders of Senegal's Tambacounda and Kédougou regions, Mali's Kayes military regions, and Mauritania's Sélibaby region are held periodically to plan joint patrols and share intelligence. To address the escalating threat, the three countries should strengthen their deployed forces' operational capacity and intelligence sharing. This could include acquiring systems to detect and neutralise spy or kamikaze drones, which pose a significant risk to soldiers, infrastructure and mining companies in the area. Given its proximity and vulnerability to terrorist infiltration, Guinea could be invited to join this cross-border cooperation mechanism. Security responses must avoid exacerbating existing local conflicts that weaken communities and make them susceptible to exploitation by armed groups. Institute for Security Studies research has shown that terrorists often use intra- and inter-community tensions as leverage to establish a foothold in parts of Central Sahel. In the Mali-Mauritania-Senegal border area, communities are often organised around caste systems (nobles and descendants of former slaves), which generates tensions over traditional leadership, land access and religious authority. Farmer-herder disputes are often poorly managed by local administrations, increasing the area's vulnerability. Better resolution of these conflicts would strengthen the three states' ability to resist the expansion of armed groups. Socioeconomic imbalances The three countries should also address socioeconomic imbalances, which fuel frustrations and provide fertile ground for terrorist recruitment. Despite significant agro-pastoral potential and gold reserves on both sides of the Senegal-Mali border, locals remain poor, with minimal investment in infrastructure, healthcare, education, water and electricity. Cross-border economic development initiatives targeting the youth and involving Guinea could be explored. These could be carried out through bilateral cooperation or within the framework of the Organisation for the Development of the Senegal River. Finally, this security and economic cooperation approach should be integrated into ongoing negotiations between the Alliance of Sahel States (Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger) and the Economic Community of West African States. As regional security cooperation fragments, strengthening cross-border mechanisms is essential to weaken terrorist networks and prevent their expansion into neighbouring countries. Such cooperation could be aligned with revitalising the Nouakchott Process — launched by the African Union in 2013 to enhance collaboration and intelligence sharing among Sahel-Saharan states confronting terrorism and transnational crime. DM
Daily News Egypt
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily News Egypt
Alarming Advance of Jihadist Groups in Sahel Raises Regional Security Concerns
The Sahel region is witnessing a sharp deterioration in security as jihadist groups expand their influence, overpowering state forces and plunging entire areas into chaos, French newspaper Le Figaro has warned in a recent report. According to the analysis by journalist Jean-Marc Gonin, national armies in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger are increasingly losing control over vast territories, while civilian populations continue to bear the brunt of violence in a conflict they are neither responsible for nor equipped to escape. Three years after France ended its counterterrorism Operation Barkhane under mounting pressure from military juntas that seized power in the region, jihadist insurgencies led by al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) have surged. These militant groups are not only challenging the armed forces of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger but are also conducting cross-border raids into neighbouring states such as Benin, posing a growing threat to West African stability. Coordinated Raids and Military Setbacks In the past three months, JNIM launched a wave of attacks in western Mali, including a major offensive near the borders with Senegal and Mauritania. The simultaneous raids targeted seven towns, including the strategic urban centres of Kayes and Nioro, underscoring the group's growing operational capabilities. JNIM's leader, Tuareg commander Iyad Ag Ghaly, is reportedly pursuing control of critical urban hubs and key transportation corridors essential for Mali's access to imported supplies from coastal nations. Although Malian authorities later claimed to have recaptured Kayes, the group succeeded in seizing significant military equipment in the process. Witnesses in the area reported the use of armoured vehicles and, in recent months, the possible deployment of drones by militants—raising alarm over the group's evolving arsenal. Bakary Sambe, regional director of the Timbuktu Institute, described the July 1 attacks as 'well-planned strikes' aimed at disrupting military communication lines and logistics. 'This isolation of Bamako weakens the state's response and gives militants the freedom to launch rapid attacks and withdraw with minimal resistance,' he said. Sahel States Struggle to Push Back Since the withdrawal of French troops in 2022 and the United Nations peacekeeping force in 2023, JNIM has filled the security vacuum, growing in both presence and influence. Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso have since formed the Sahel States Alliance (AES) to confront the threat, but despite some localised military gains, the coalition continues to suffer heavy losses. The July 1 attacks underscored the challenges faced by national forces. While some incursions were repelled, several operations resulted in significant casualties among government troops. Observers say the reliance on Russian military support—particularly through the controversial Wagner Group—has further complicated the situation. Wagner operatives, accused of human rights abuses, have exacerbated existing grievances, fueling local anger and inadvertently aiding jihadist recruitment. Deepening Social Divisions The ongoing violence has heightened tensions between herder and farming communities, particularly among the Fulani people, who are spread across the Sahel. Jihadist groups, especially JNIM, have exploited these fault lines to gain loyalty, offering a form of economic stability and protection in exchange for allegiance. Le Figaro noted that jihadists have, over the past three years, strategically positioned themselves as defenders of the Fulani, in contrast to national governments and allied militias accused of targeting the group. One of the mo…
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
The deadly al-Qaeda affiliate terrorising western Africa
When Amadou Traoré was posted to an army base in western Mali, his family could take comfort that the soldier was far away from the jidahists pillaging towns and killing hundreds. The Kayes region, where he was based, had escaped the relentless terrorist attacks that led the US and UN to label Mali and its neighbours the new global epicentre of terrorism. But that reprieve from bloodshed ended this month. Lieut Traoré's family woke to reports of coordinated attacks in seven towns and cities across the region. 'Automatically, I called his wife: 'Have you heard from Amadou?' recalls his father, Ousmane. At the same time, social media began flooding with pictures of destruction unfolding in an area previously considered safe. As his family spent hours calling the army officer's mobile, his phone rang out and later it went straight to voicemail. 'It was the next day that his wife called me to tell me that she had been contacted to say her husband had died,' the retired teacher told The Telegraph. 'And that's how we learned. We learned and in turn, I informed his mother, I informed his brothers.' Ousmane's son was killed by the same al-Qaeda offshoot rampaging across Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. It has become one of the world's deadliest militant groups. Some 850 people have been massacred by Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) across the three countries in May alone, according to data from Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), a US crisis-monitoring group. The surge in attacks has marked one of the deadliest periods in the Sahel's recent history and heightened fears about the stability of the region at a time when its junta regimes are estranged from former Western military allies. After more than a decade of insurgency bloodshed which has caused mass displacement, there are fears the violence is now pushing toward coastal west Africa. Gen Michael Langley, the top US commander in Africa, said reaching the coast was one of the terrorists' new objectives. 'If they secure access to the coastline, they can finance their operations through smuggling, human trafficking, and arms trading,' he said. Mali's government was able to repel JNIMs' attacks on July 1, but the push into the Kayes region has been described by analysts as a key change in the war. At the same time, there has been an apparent shift from rural guerrilla tactics to a campaign aimed at controlling territory around urban centres and asserting political dominance in the Sahel, they said. South-west Mali not only controls access to the nearby Senegal and Mauritania borders, but also contains much of Mali's gold wealth. Ulf Laessing, director of the Sahel programme at German think tank the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said Mali still had a better grip on its south-west than elsewhere, but the new JNIM push could stretch government forces. 'JNIM is trying to establish a presence in south-western Mali near the Senegal border, which has been relatively quiet,' Mr Laessing told The Telegraph. 'The region is strategically important as Mali's main supply route for imports from Dakar passes through Kayes and western Mali. 'I think JNIM is trying to establish a new front, and force the army to move soldiers from the north and centre to the south.' Mali has been in deep crisis since early last decade, when Tuareg separatists and radical Islamist factions took over Timbuktu, Gao and other towns across the north. French military intervention had some early success pushing them back, but Paris soon became bogged down in a difficult counter-insurgency mission marred by strained ties with the government. The violence spread into Niger and Burkina Faso and in 2017 JNIM was founded in a merger of jihadist groups including al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). JNIM and its estimated 6,000 to 7,000 fighters has since been the region's strongest militant group and is led by Iyad Ag Ghaly. Ghaly, the former rebel leader in Mali's Tuareg uprisings in the 1990s, led Ansar Dine, the fundamentalist group, as part of a coalition that briefly occupied northern Mali in 2012. His ambition is thought to be to impose Islamic rule across the Sahel. Military coups in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have all capitalised on public anger at the failure to improve security in the face of JNIM's advance. Yet while the incoming juntas have kicked out Western allies, particularly the former colonial power France, and turned to the Kremlin for military support instead, the violence continues to worsen. The juntas and Russian mercenaries are meanwhile accused of turning people against them by conducting atrocities as they try to beat back JNIM's advance. Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, of the International Crisis Group, said: 'The parties are fighting a war of attrition, with jihadist groups expanding in rural areas, and government forces and their Russian allies controlling urban centres.' Meanwhile, JNIM's battlefield tactics are reported to have become increasingly sophisticated, and now include the use of anti-aircraft weapons and drones. The group is also thought to gain hefty revenue from raids, cattle rustling, hijacking of goods, kidnappings and taxes on local communities. It has imposed taxes in areas it controls and imposed a form of Sharia law, requiring women to wear veils and men to grow beards. Mr Traore said that the JNIM attacks that had killed his son showed how powerful the group had become. He predicted only some form of negotiation would be able to stop the violence. He said: 'It will take time and in my opinion, it's negotiations, it's dialogue that we must consider. 'Because we're fed up with this war all the time. Attacks here and there, killings here and there and deaths. Really, we've had enough. We've had enough.'
BBC News
5 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Burkina Faso military rulers scrap electoral commission, take control of future election
Burkina Faso military rulers don disband di kontri electoral commission, call am waste of money. Di interior ministry go handle elections in di future, state-run RTB TV report. Since dem seize power in September 2022, di coup leaders don initiate sweeping reforms, including di postponement of elections wey go lead to a return to civilian rule. A nationwide vote bin dey due last year, but di junta bin extend di period of transition to democracy until July 2029, e allow leader Capt Ibrahim Traoré to remain in power and free to contest di next presidential election. Di AFP news agency quote Territorial Administration Minister Emile Zerbo say di electoral commission dey "subsidised" wit around $870,000 (£650,000) a year. To scrap di commission go "reinforce our sovereign control on di electoral process and at di same time limit foreign influences", e bin add. Afta e come to power three years ago for middle of criticism say di civilian authorities dey fail to deal wit one growing Islamist insurgency, di military leaders don reject di assistance of former colonial power France in favour of Russia. Rights groups since don accuse di army say dem dey target civilians for attempt to quash di militants, as well as suppress political activity and di freedom of expression. Question marks also dey over di effectiveness of di military operation. In di first half of 2025, jihadist group JNIM tok say dem don carry out over 280 attacks in Burkina Faso – double di number for di same period in 2024, according to data wey di BBC verify. Additional reporting by BBC Monitoring and David Bamford.
The Star
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Analysis-Rise in Al Qaeda attacks revives spectre of West African caliphate
DAKAR (Reuters) -At dawn on June 1, gunfire shattered the stillness of Mali's military base in Boulkessi. Waves of jihadist insurgents from an al-Qaeda-linked group stormed the camp, catching newly deployed soldiers off guard. Some troops, unfamiliar with the base, which lies near Mali's southern border with Burkina Faso, scrambled to find cover while others fled into the arid brush, according to one soldier, who spoke to survivors of the attack. The soldier, who had completed a tour at the camp a week before, requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to journalists. Hours after the attack, videos circulated online showing jubilant fighters from Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), stepping over the bodies of fallen soldiers. JNIM claimed it had killed more than 100 troops and showed around 20 soldiers who said they were captured at the base. Reuters was unable to verify the claims independently. The Boulkessi assault was one of more than a dozen deadly attacks by JNIM on military outposts and towns across Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger in May and June. The insurgents claimed to have killed more than 400 soldiers in those attacks. Mali's military government has not commented on the toll. Reuters spoke to five analysts, a security expert and a community leader in the region who said the surge in violence reflects a strategic shift by JNIM - a group founded by a veteran Islamist who rose to prominence by briefly seizing northern Mali in 2012. JNIM is moving from rural guerrilla tactics to a campaign aimed at controlling territory around urban centres and asserting political dominance in the Sahel, they said. "The recent attacks point a concrete effort to encircle Sahelian capitals, aiming for a parallel state stretching from western Mali to southern Niger and northern Benin," said Mucahid Durmaz, senior Africa analyst at risk intelligence group Verisk Maplecroft. Attacks by JNIM left more 850 people dead across Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger in May, a rise from the average rate of killings of around 600 in previous months, according to data from U.S. crisis-monitoring group Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED). The surge in attacks in May and June marks one of the deadliest periods in the Sahel's recent history and underscores the threat posed by jihadist groups at a time when regional governments are estranged from former Western military allies, analysts say. More than a decade of insurgencies in the Sahel has caused mass displacement and economic collapse. The violence has steadily spread towards coastal West Africa, straining regional stability and fuelling migration toward Europe. On July 1, JNIM carried out simultaneous attacks on army camps and positions in seven towns in central and western Mali, according to an army statement and claims by the insurgents. The army said 80 militants were killed. Reuters was unable to reach JNIM for comment. The group releases its statements and videos on social media, and has no media spokesperson. Mali's army did not respond to Reuters requests for comments about the wave of JNIM attacks. It said in a statement after the Boulkessi assault that troops responded "vigorously" before retreating. "Many soldiers fought, some to their last breath," the statement said. STRATEGIC PIVOT JNIM's leader, Iyad Ag Ghaly, has been instrumental in its transformation. A former rebel leader in Mali's Tuareg uprisings in the 1990s, Ag Ghaly led the fundamentalist group Ansar Dine that was part of a coalition of groups that briefly occupied northern Mali in 2012. The militants imposed a harsh version of sharia law - banning music, imposing mutilations as punishment for crimes, and holding public executions and floggings. Thousands fled, and cultural sites were destroyed, leaving lasting trauma in the region before the rebels were driven out by a French military intervention the following year. Ag Ghaly is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The military leaders in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, who seized power between 2020 and 2023 on the back of the prolonged insurgencies, promise to restore security before returning their countries to democratic rule. They've cut ties with Western nations and expelled their forces, blaming them for failing to end the insurgencies and turning instead to Russia for military support. After deploying mercenaries, the Russians have also suffered setbacks and been unable to contain the uprisings. In Burkina Faso — a country about half the size of France — militants exert influence or control over an estimated 60% of the territory, according to ACLED. Ag Ghaly, who has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda, has positioned himself as the leader of a jihadist coalition that includes al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Al-Mourabitoun, and Katiba Macina after they merged into JNIM in 2017. A Western security source, who requested anonymity because he is not authorised to speak publicly, told Reuters that JNIM has emerged as the region's strongest militant group, with an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 fighters. Ag Ghaly's goal, the analysts said, is to impose Islamic rule across the Sahel and extend its influence to coastal West Africa, a region twice the size of Western Europe, with a population of around 430 million people, many of them Christian. In a rare video released in December 2023, he denounced the military governments in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso and called on Muslims to mobilize against them and their Russian allies. Ag Ghaly could not be reached for comment. The governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger did not respond to requests for comment. SOPHISTICATED TACTICS, LOCAL OUTREACH JNIM's battlefield tactics have grown increasingly sophisticated, including the use of anti-aircraft weapons and drones for surveillance and precision strikes, Durmaz said. It has amassed substantial resources, meanwhile, through raids, cattle rustling, hijacking of goods, kidnappings and taxes on local communities, the five analysts said. While it has not appointed local administrators in areas under its control, JNIM has imposed a tax known as 'Zakat' for protection, according to two residents and a former militia fighter. They have quelled some inter-communal conflicts and imposed a form of Sharia law, requiring women to wear veils and men to grow beards. But they have refrained from severe punishments, such as amputating the hands of thieves. Heni Nsaibia, Senior West Africa analyst at ACLED, described its recent activity as a "step change". He said JNIM seizing Burkina Faso's northern provincial capital Djibo, a town of over 60,000 people, on May 11 and Diapaga, an eastern provincial capital of around 15,000, two days later was unprecedented. "In Djibo they stayed for 11 hours or plus. In Diapaga they remained for two-three days even. And that is very much something that we haven't seen before," Nsaibia said. According to Nsaibia, the group has captured an estimated $3 million worth of munitions in Djibo alone. The repeated attacks have left the capitals of Mali and Burkina Faso unsettled, and idea of JNIM taking over Bamako or Ouagadougou, once considered far-fetched, is a plausible threat, according to Nsaibia. JNIM's outreach to marginalized communities, particularly the Fulani, a widely dispersed pastoralist group, has been central to recruitment, the analysts said. "JNIM is advancing its narrative as a defender of marginalised communities," Durmaz said. "They are not just fighting for territory — they're fighting for legitimacy." Fulani have increasingly found themselves targeted by authorities across Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso under the banner of counter-terrorism, a Fulani community leader told Reuters, requesting anonymity for safety reasons. While not all Fulani are involved in armed groups, their presence is significant among insurgents in rural areas, driven more by frustration and lack of opportunity than ideology, the leader said. JNIM's ambitions now stretch beyond the Sahel. The group has expanded its operations into northern Benin and Togo, and are threatening Gulf of Guinea states which they use as a rear base, according to analysts. Both countries have deployed more security forces in the northern regions as insurgents ramp up attacks. "Togo and Benin are the most vulnerable due to their limited counterterrorism capabilities, existing local grievances in their northern regions, and porous borders with Burkina Faso," Durmaz said. ($1 = 554.9000 CFA francs) (Additional reporting Robbie Corey-Boulet and Bate Felix Writing by Bate Felix)
