The latest wave of attacks perpetrated in Mali by jihadists and Tuareg rebels marks a new chapter in the security crisis that has plagued the country for years.
In 2012, northern Mali descended into chaos when Tuareg rebels launched a campaign for independence or special status. Jihadists quickly joined the rebellion , transforming the north into a launching pad for an Islamist insurgency that has since spread to neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso .
Since its independence in 1960, Mali has faced repeated uprisings by the Tuareg , a nomadic people of the Sahara of Berber origin, motivated by grievances against the southern government
. In March 2012, the military overthrew President Amadou Toumani Touré , accusing him of failing to contain a Tuareg-led separatist rebellion and the advance of Islamist armed groups in the north.
This coup triggered a security crisis in which Tuareg rebels and jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) seized control of the main cities in the north. The Tuaregs were subsequently ousted by the jihadist groups, who took control of the region.
French intervention
The jihadists were partially repelled by Operation Serval, led by France in 2013. This was then replaced in 2014 by Operation Barkhane , a larger-scale counter-terrorism mission covering the entire Sahel.
The United Nations also deployed its peacekeeping mission, MINUSMA , which took over from a pan-African force.
Peace agreement
In 2013, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta — known as IBK — was elected president. A peace agreement was signed in 2015 between the government and separatist groups in the north.
Despite this agreement, jihadist violence continued, increasingly merging with deadly communal clashes.
Coups d'état, French withdrawal
Military personnel overthrew IBK in a coup in 2020. A transitional president was appointed, but he himself was ousted in a second coup in 2021. General Assimi Goita established himself as head of the ruling junta, gradually abandoning his promises of a return to civilian rule.
Relations with Western partners have deteriorated. In 2022, French troops and the UN mission were expelled from the country. Mali then turned to the Russian paramilitary group Wagner for security support.
Fighting resumes
After eight years of relative calm, fighting resumed in northern Mali in August 2023 between predominantly Tuareg armed groups and the army.
In September, separatists launched an offensive against the garrison town of Bourem, which the army claimed to have repelled. Both sides reported dozens of deaths.
This resurgence of separatist activity coincided with a wave of attacks claimed mainly by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), an alliance linked to Al-Qaeda.
The army retakes Kidal
The Malian army, supported by Wagner Group fighters—later replaced by the Russian-backed Africa Corps—recaptured Kidal, a rebel stronghold, in November 2023, ending years of Tuareg control. In January 2024, the junta announced the immediate termination of the 2015 peace agreement.
July 2024 was marked by one of the worst military setbacks suffered by Mali in years. Government forces and their Russian allies suffered heavy losses in clashes with separatist rebels near Tinzaouatene in the north, coinciding with a jihadist attack.
In September, JNIM claimed responsibility for a large-scale double attack against the military airport in the capital Bamako and the military police training school, leaving more than 70 dead and 200 wounded, according to security sources.
Regional Alliance
Mali, Niger , and Burkina Faso —all ruled by military juntas—formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), announcing the deployment of a 5,000-strong force to combat jihadist groups. In September 2025, JNIM launched a strategy to cripple the Malian economy by imposing blockades on several cities and fuel convoys.
