MALI – APRIL 25, 2026 JNIM fighters, together with Tuareg armed groups, launched coordinated attacks against positions of Malian government forces. The attacks targeted several locations across the country, including the area around the capital, Bamako. According to available information, government forces managed to repel most of the attacks, and the bodies of some of the attackers were left at the scene.
Mali has long been dealing with an armed insurgency and the activities of jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. The security situation is further complicated by the conflict between the government and some Tuareg and other armed groups in the north of the country.
Following military coups in 2020 and 2021, Mali gradually moved away from its traditional cooperation with France and other Western partners. French forces withdrew from the country, and the Malian government began cooperating much more closely with Russia. Russian military contractors, later associated with the Wagner Group, also appeared alongside Malian forces in the fight against insurgents.
