JNIM, Tuareg Forces Contest Kidal in April 25 Offensive as Mali Loses Grip on North
Updated
Updated · The Jamestown Foundation · Jun 12
JNIM, Tuareg Forces Contest Kidal in April 25 Offensive as Mali Loses Grip on North
3 articles · Updated · The Jamestown Foundation · Jun 12
Summary
April 25 marked a coordinated JNIM-FLA campaign around Kidal and other northern Malian positions, with Kidal itself reported contested or captured in the latest push.
Months of JNIM economic blockade and what the report calls Mali's increasingly humiliating arrangements with the group set up the offensive, which forced Malian and Russian-aligned forces into a more defensive posture.
ISSP tried to exploit the joint assault by probing Labbezanga and Menaka—areas it had besieged for more than three years—but later withdrew under Russian and Nigerien pressure.
The Kidal offensive fits a wider pattern in which JNIM and ISSP keep expanding across the Sahel and into coastal West Africa despite a deadly rivalry that has also spread into Niger, Burkina Faso and Nigeria.
That dual-track advance is raising the risk that northern Mali again slips beyond Bamako's effective control while larger towns across the region face growing jihadist pressure.
As rival jihadists gain ground while fighting each other, is the entire Sahel region facing an unstoppable collapse?
With Russian forces failing and a key city falling, are local alliances now the true power brokers in Mali?
As millions face starvation from the conflict, are military solutions only fueling Africa's deadliest humanitarian crisis?
Mali on the Brink: The 2026 JNIM–Tuareg Offensive, State Collapse, and the Siege of Bamako
Overview
In April 2026, Mali was rocked by a major coordinated offensive from Jama’at Nusrat al Islam wa al Muslimeen (JNIM) and pro-separatist Tuareg rebels, leading to a dramatic shift in territorial control. The insurgents attacked across multiple fronts, overwhelming both Malian and Russian Africa Corps forces, and captured key towns in the north, especially Kidal and Gao. As a result, Mali now faces severe instability, with the government’s future in Bamako and other regions highly uncertain. The crisis has left the country struggling with disrupted governance, humanitarian emergencies, and a precarious security situation.