Latest Articles about Mali
Moscow Expands Military Influence in Africa
Executive Summary: Russia’s advances in Africa are moving to a new political-strategic level by establishing further military and economic ties across the continent. Moscow has long worked to gain influence across the Sahel and is now aiming to establish footholds throughout Sub-Saharan Africa and the... MORE
Russian Military Intelligence Takes Over Wagner Operations in Libya
Executive Summary: Moscow is consolidating the Wagner Group’s operations in Libya under the direct control of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (GRU) and relying on the African Corps under the purview of Russia’s deputy defense minister. Field Marshal... MORE
Brief: Russia Deepens Counter-Terrorism Ties to Sahelian Post-Coup Regimes
On December 4, Niger announced the “strengthening of military cooperation” with Russia, the latest in a series of shifts toward the Russian sphere of influence by post-coup Sahelian states on the basis of counter-terrorism (Africa News, December 4). The announcement came after a Russian delegation... MORE
Brief: Window of Opportunity for Peace Between ISGS and JNIM Closes
In March, the new al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) leader, Abu Obeida Youssef al-Aanabi, affirmed that Islamic State in Greater Sahara (ISGS) is “deviant,” emphasizing that AQIM was still at war with ISGS (France24.com, March 6). In August, there were emerging signs of a... MORE
Brief: ISGS Expands Offensive in Burkina Faso and Niger
Islamic State in Greater Sahara (ISGS) continues to demonstrate its ability to combat its al-Qaeda-affiliated nemesis, Group for Supporters of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), expanding and carrying out large-scale attacks in ways that outmatch JNIM. On October 3, for example, ISGS killed 29 Nigeriens in... MORE
Brief: New Jihadist Group Wahdat al-Muslimin Aims to Unite JNIM and ISGS in the Sahel
In August, the Sahelian Islamist landscape grew more crowded as a new group entering the scene: Wahdat al-Muslimin (Unity of Muslims). Wahdat al-Muslimin has called for Islamic State in Greater Sahara (ISGS) and Group for Supporters of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) jihadist groups to unite... MORE
Brief: JNIM Consolidates Control Around Gao, Timbuktu
The town of Gao in northern Mali has been a key hub of jihadist operations since 2012. At that time, the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJWA) controlled Gao, while al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) controlled Timbuktu, and Ansar al-Din controlled... MORE
Brief: Russian Wagner Group Faces Increasing Attacks From Sahelian Jihadists Amid Coup Fallout
Amid ongoing coup contagion in West Africa, the region’s new military regimes—especially in Mali, but possibly in Burkina Faso and Niger in the future—are eyeing Russia, and particularly the Wagner Group, as potential partners in counter-insurgency support. Russia is more than willing to play a... MORE
Abdallah Ag Albakaye: JNIM’s Tuareg Emir in Mali’s Gao Region
Abdallah Ag Albakaye holds a prominent position within Mali-based Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) as its emir in Talataye. The village of Talataye is in Gao, but is strategically located between the Menaka and Kidal regions. Ag Albakaye originally belonged to the JNIM sub-group,... MORE
Moscow Reconsiders the Wagner Group’s Role in Africa
On August 23, Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the notorious Wagner Group who had earlier ventured on an aborted mutiny against the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) (see EDM, July 11), died under mysterious circumstances when his business jet crashed in Russia’s Tver region (Ru.euronews.com, August... MORE