Who are JNIM, the jihadist 'ghost enemy' gaining momentum in the Sahel?

[muriel_volestrangler]

The series of bombings, hijackings, attacks on military bases and raids into major towns in Mali and Burkina Faso carried out by JNIM in recent weeks have gone largely unnoticed in a world preoccupied by conflicts elsewhere, but marks one of the most significant military efforts by any Islamic militant organisation anywhere in the world since the Taliban stormed back to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
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Across the Sahel, grinding poverty, instability, sectarian and longstanding violence have long combined to offer opportunities to insurgents, separatists and extremists. These factors have lately been exacerbated by politics. A series of coups have brought military regimes to power in key states worst hit by Islamic extremism, leading to the expulsion of one of the biggest deployments of UN peacekeepers, French elite units and more than 1,000 US troops equipped with dozens of surveillance drones from the region.

Earlier this month, the Russian mercenaries who had been brought in by Mali’s military rulers to help their forces fight JNIM abandoned a brutal campaign in which they had suffered heavy casualties – and been implicated in the massacre of thousands of civilians.
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“By the time the government forces react, they can’t reach the real bad guys so take revenge on civilians and that is a major driver of recruitment,” he said.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/25/jihadist-ghost-enemy-jnim-sahel

The article says Jama’at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin "may owe a tenuous loyalty" to al-Qaida.

[hlthe2b]

1. There is a price to be paid when nations turn inward to "populist-nationalist"-only agendas and ignore the world...

World instability can only increase, especially as climate change drives more starvation and poverty...