Mali’s military has announced the killing of at least 80 jihadist fighters linked to al-Qaeda following a wave of coordinated assaults on army positions across central and western parts of the country. The attacks, claimed by the militant group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), targeted military posts in seven locations near the borders with Senegal and Mauritania. According to a televised statement by the Armed Forces of Mali (FAMa), the heavily armed militants launched simultaneous raids on Sunday and Monday, aiming to overrun multiple garrisons. The army said it had repelled the attacks and inflicted significant losses on the insurgents, despite JNIM claiming to have seized three military barracks in the process.
In response to the escalating threat, regional authorities in Kayes and Dioïla imposed a 30-day nighttime curfew to contain further violence and restore public order. Security sources indicated that several soldiers were wounded, and material losses were recorded, though the army has not released official figures on military casualties. The offensive marks one of the most ambitious coordinated operations by JNIM in recent years. The group, a coalition of Sahel-based militants aligned with al-Qaeda, has intensified its campaign against state forces since French troops and UN peacekeepers began withdrawing from Mali.
The West African country, under military rule since a 2020 coup, remains a flashpoint in the Sahel’s decade-long war against jihadist insurgencies. Alongside its battles with al-Qaeda affiliates, Mali continues to confront threats from Islamic State-linked factions and lingering separatist rebellions led by Tuareg factions in the north. U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) Commander General Michael Langley recently described the region as the “epicenter of terrorism on the globe,” warning that extremist groups are pushing toward coastal West Africa to expand funding streams through trafficking, smuggling, and arms trade. As regional instability worsens, Mali—along with fellow junta-led nations Burkina Faso and Niger—has withdrawn from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and instead formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), emphasizing security self-reliance amid diminishing Western support.
