JNIM besieges Mali capital, attacks airport and kills defence minister

12 articles · Updated · The Wall Street Journal · Apr 30

In Bamako and Kati this week, the al-Qaeda-linked group also imposed a lockdown as Russia's Africa Corps withdrew from Kidal and lost vehicles and a helicopter.
Gen Sadio Camara, who drove Mali's 2022 turn to Wagner, was killed in a car-bomb attack on his home, while the US embassy told citizens to shelter in place.
Western officials say the 6,000-strong insurgency now controls vast Sahel territory, funded by fuel seizures, ransom and cocaine trafficking, raising fears Mali's junta could lose effective control beyond the capital.

As Russia's African gambit unravels, could Mali become the next global terrorist safe haven?

With Bamako under siege, is an al-Qaeda-led caliphate now an imminent reality in Africa?