Al Qaeda branch in the Sahel calls for “a united front” to overthrow Mali’s military junta

The branch of Al Qaeda in the Sahel, the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM), has called for a “united front” to overthrow the military junta in place in the African country since 2020 in order to open “a peaceful and inclusive transition”, following the large-scale coordinated offensive launched on April 25 together with the Tuareg separatists of the Front for the Liberation of Azawad (FLA).

“The moment of truth has arrived: we must prevent Mali from falling into the abyss before it is too late,” said the group, which called on “all sincere patriots, without distinction” to “rise up and join forces in a common front.”

Thus, he has called on “political parties, the national Armed Forces, religious authorities, traditional leaders and all components of Malian society, so that the word of God is the highest and so that Mali recovers its true sovereignty and dignity.”

“It is imperative to put an end, by all legitimate means, to the dictatorship of this terrorist junta. However, we warn that bringing down the junta is not enough. We must, together, avoid a chaotic vacuum that throws our country into total collapse,” the group said in a statement.

“We ask for a peaceful, responsible and inclusive transition, whose essential objective is to launch a new Mali, with the establishment of ‘sharia’ as one of the essential priorities,” JNIM pointed out, highlighting that “the duty is heavy, but it is collective and sacred.” “Mali cannot wait,” he noted.

The jihadist group has also praised “the victorious operation to liberate the city of Kidal”, now in the hands of the FLA, and has stressed that the “devastating attacks” in other parts of the country, including the capital, Bamako, were the responsibility of the branch of Al Qaeda in the Sahel, thus claiming responsibility for the main military coups against the junta.

The alliance of convenience between JNIM and the FLA has received criticism, on the other hand, from the jihadist group Islamic State – in conflict with both groups -, according to an editorial in the magazine ‘Al Naba’. The group would have tried to take advantage of the situation to gain territory, although Bamako claims that it repelled their offensives.

The JNIM statement was published days after the leader of the military junta, Assimi Goita, reappeared in public to ensure that the situation was “under control”, following speculation about his whereabouts after several days without making statements following the attacks, which also affected Kati, the seat of power of the Malian authorities.

Likewise, it comes after the country hosted the funeral on Thursday of the Minister of Defense, Sadio Camara, one of the most important figures of the junta. Camara died in a car bomb attack at his residence, authorities confirmed, an attack that was the work of JNIM.

Camara’s funeral was attended by Goita, as confirmed by the Army, in a statement in which it stated that the event served to “pay tribute to an exceptional officer and a martyr in the fight for the sovereignty of the Malian nation.”

NEW MILITARY OPERATIONS

Regarding the situation on the ground, the Malian Army has stated that it recently launched new bombings against suspects in Kidal, attacks that “neutralized numerous terrorists” and that “completely destroyed their logistical means, especially a fuel depot.”

Likewise, the Russian paramilitary group Africa Corps – former Wagner Group – which supports Malian forces, has confirmed bombings against “two militia camps” in Folona and Farani, located in the Sikasso and Koulikoro regions, respectively.

However, he acknowledged that the situation “continues to be difficult”, given that the members of the JNIM and the FLA “continue to regroup”. “There is active propaganda work underway to reduce the morale of the Malian Army, with a massive amount of fake news on social media about a mass abandonment of their positions.”

“Units of the Africa Corps of the Russian Armed Forces, together with the Malian Army, continue to carry out reconnaissance and analysis missions of the terrorists’ movements and identification of their bases,” the paramilitary group said in a statement posted on social networks.

AES OPERATIONS AND CRITICISM OF MACRON

For its part, the Government of Niger – part along with Mali and Burkina Faso of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), created after its departure in 2024 from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) – has highlighted the “rapid and energetic response” of its unified force from the bloc, without details about its operations on the ground.

Niamey has stated that this force “carried out intense air campaigns during the hours after the cowardly attacks of April 25 in Sevaré, Gao, Ménaka and Kidal”, applauding the “operational coordination” between the armies of the three countries, after doubts about their response to the lack of official communications after the jihadist and separatist offensive, beyond a show of solidarity to Bamako.

For this reason, the Nigerien Council of Ministers has “firmly” condemned the “barbaric acts” by JNIM and the FLA and has harshly attacked “their international sponsors, with France at the helm, while noting that the AES countries “are determined to continue the struggle for liberation until final victory.”

“Since our countries made the sovereign decision to free themselves from the cycle of looting and extortion of their resources, exclusively for the benefit of France and its local allies, various operational scenarios have cynically opened up to destabilize our States and hinder our firm fight for sovereignty,” he criticized.

“These recurring incursions are carried out using resources and logistics that, without a doubt, are beyond the reach of these terrorist groups,” argued Niamey, who has directly pointed to the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, as the ringleader of these efforts. “He openly navigates the murky waters of international terrorism,” he concluded.

Mali is currently led by a military junta established after the coups carried out in August 2020 and May 2021, both headed by Goita, the current transitional president. Since then, Bamako has become closer to Russia and distanced itself from its traditional Western allies, including France, a former colonial power.