Jihadist violence by the al-Qaida-linked group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has expanded significantly into Mali’s Kayes region between 2021 and 2024, according to a new report by the Timbuktu Institute think tank. The study reveals that JNIM has increased its attacks sevenfold over the past three years, raising concerns about a broader destabilization of the tri-border area where Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal converge. Analysts say the group is now actively seeking to infiltrate eastern Senegal, a move that could widen the footprint of Sahelian jihadist violence into a country that has, until recently, been largely spared.
JNIM, a coalition of militant groups operating under al-Qaida’s banner, has carried out dozens of attacks across the Sahel, including in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Benin, and Chad. Their operations have particularly destabilized the region around the W-Arly-Pendjari Complex, a vast transnational park system that has become a key staging ground for extremist cross-border operations. In neighboring Benin, jihadist violence has escalated dramatically, culminating in recent attacks that killed at least 70 soldiers, highlighting the widening spillover of conflict from Sahelian hotbeds like Burkina Faso and Niger.
The Timbuktu Institute’s findings underscore the urgent need for coordinated regional security efforts, especially as jihadist groups capitalize on weak state presence, porous borders, and growing instability to entrench themselves further south into West Africa.
