Tuareg people

Why the United States Should Pay More Attention to the War in Mali

The ongoing civil war in Mali—where a jihadist group is poised to seize power—is spilling over into Nigeria, with ominous humanitarian consequences.

JNIM and allied rebels surge across Mali, take several cities, pressure capital

Beginning on Saturday, Al Qaeda’s Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), and its allies in the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a collection of Tuareg and Arab rebel groups, fully or partially...

Turkey and JNIM: Jihadist messaging signals possible conflict between two ascending forces in the central Sahel

After years of Turkey progressively asserting its position in the central Sahel, recent months have seen Jamaat Nusrat al Islam wal Muslimin (The Group for Support of Islam and Muslims, JNIM), Al Qaeda’s...

Tuareg rebels, JNIM each claim victory over Russia’s Wagner Group in Mali

Over the weekend, fierce fighting between Tuareg rebels and the Malian military, backed by mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group, was reported in the extreme north of Mali. The Russian mercenaries suffered...

Analysis: Setting the stage for Mali’s near future

Mali’s immediate and near future prospects for security are immensely bleak. France, and many of its international counter-terrorism partners, are long gone. The United Nations’ peacekeeping mission...

Analysis: Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb encourages its Sahelian wing to continue fighting the Islamic State

In a newly released video, Abu Yasir al-Jaza’iri, a senior ideologue within al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), sends a message of encouragement to AQIM’s Sahelian wing, the Group for Support of...

Analysis: Islamic State claims Al Qaeda started a war in West Africa

The Islamic State claims in the latest edition of its weekly Al-Naba newsletter that Al Qaeda started a “war” against the so-called caliphate’s men in West Africa. Independent reporting confirms...

Analysis: The Islamic State’s ideological campaign against al-Qaeda

On April 29, the Islamic State’s “province” (wilayah) in Yemen released a lengthy video that is intended to undermine al-Qaeda’s ideological legitimacy within the jihadists’ ranks. The 50-plus...

The Trump Administration’s Afghanistan Policy

Mali’s MUJWA Ascendant

Four Red Cross workers and one other aid worker disappeared on Saturday while driving between Gao and Kidal in Mali. On Tuesday,...

Challenges Await Mali’s Next President

While results are being tallied in Mali’s run-off elections, a ‘strong man’ appears poised to win the presidential elections. In the first round, former Prime Minister Ibrahim B...

Mali’s Elections Will Not Solve Its Problems

By Zachary Elkaim Mali is set to hold presidential elections on Sunday, July 28. While the democratic process should be welcomed, it has been beset with challenges, and more are...

Emir of Ansar Dine Added to US, UN’s Terrorist Lists

Both the United States and the United Nations have added Iyad ag Ghali, the emir of the Mali-based, al Qaeda-linked Ansar Dine, to their lists of global terrorists. Ghali was instrumental in the...

The Obama Vacuum

One thing Hillary Clinton got right in her testimony before Congress last week: “When America is absent,” she said, “there are consequences.” But the administration she se...

Where Should Mali’s Militants Be Detained?

It is time for Western countries to craft a coherent approach to non-criminal detention.