| Submit your comments on this article | |
| Africa North | |
| Could Mali Become the First African State to Fall Under al-Qaida's Grip? What's Happening There? - Al-Estiklal Newspaper | |
| 2025-11-20 | |
Western media outlets are sounding the alarm that this African country, where around 95 percent of the population is Muslim, could become the first state in Africa to fall under al-Qaida's control, a development that could later threaten Arab countries, since Mali borders Algeria and Mauritania. Opponents of the military government in Mali have issued appeals calling on Imam Mahmoud Dicko, who is currently in Algeria, to return and take charge of resolving the escalating political and security crisis after armed groups reached the outskirts of Bamako. Analysts see this as an indication of how serious the situation has become, since Imam Dicko is considered one of the most influential figures in Mali, and he previously led protests against earlier governments calling for democracy, before the military seized power. Dicko has also worked as a mediator between the Malian government and armed groups, and he is known for his extensive negotiating experience, which is why many Malians believe he is capable of pulling the country out of the deadlock it has faced during five years of military rule. WHAT'S NEW? Since the 2020 coup in Mali, which brought a military council to power, the country has experienced persistent instability that has deepened with the expulsion of French forces and the regime's decision to align itself with Russia as an alternative to France. After the military ousted the late civilian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in 2020, divisions emerged within the ruling ranks. In 2021, Colonel Assimi Goita carried out a second coup against the transitional president, retired Colonel Bah Ndaw, and installed himself as head of state. In September 2025, following clashes between the army and Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), al-Qaida fighters imposed an economic blockade on Bamako and prevented fuel from entering the capital. The blockade came as a retaliatory response to the military government's decision to ban the sale of fuel in rural areas under the group's control, and it resulted in paralysis across the capital, a 500 percent rise in fuel prices, the closure of schools, and the cancellation of flights. JNIM then turned what had begun as a temporary blockade into a strategy of economic pressure aimed at bringing down the regime from within by magnifying public anger and frustration, and by encouraging either an internal uprising or a military coup against General Goita. The group seized control of the international roads linking Mali with its neighbors, routes that serve as vital lifelines for a landlocked country with no access to the sea. Among them is the Dakar—Bamako road to the west with Senegal, a crucial corridor for importing food supplies. They also seized the Abidjan—Bamako road to the south with the Ivory Coast used for transporting fuel and goods, and the Nouakchott—Bamako route to the northwest with Mauritania, an area long used for smuggling weapons and fuel. Iyad Ag Ghali, the leader of JNIM, took advantage of the withdrawal of French forces after a dispute with the new military rulers, and escalated the war against Bamako, seeking to capitalize on the security vacuum to strengthen his influence in Tuareg and Fulani areas. For the first time, Ghali forged an alliance with Tuareg separatists in a joint front, despite their ideological differences. They cooperated in some battles when interests aligned, and fought each other at other moments. Al-Qaida declares its aim of establishing an Islamic system based on sharia and a caliphate in line with its ideology, while the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), a political and military group founded by Tuareg communities in northern Mali, seeks to create a secular and independent state called Azawad. Because Imam Mahmoud Dicko, who chaired the High Islamic Council from 2008 to 2019, played a role in the political change of 2020 but later left for Algeria after disputes with the military, the opposition has called for his return to lead a new transitional phase. They have urged his return on the grounds that he is a figure capable of unifying the population, restoring legitimacy, and negotiating with al-Qaida leaders. General Goita had pledged to hand power back to civilians by the end of March 2024, but his transitional government announced on 25 September 2023 that the presidential election would be postponed, and the legislative elections cancelled, citing technical reasons. Although Goita promised, after his two coups in 2020 and 2021, to bring stability, he has instead plunged the country into deeper turmoil, dismantled what remained of the state's institutional foundations, and presided over an increasingly fractured military, according to a study published by the Atlantic Council on 31 October 2025. For this reason, a former Malian minister living in exile told The Guardian in early November 2025 that a new coup, a third one, could occur within days, since, in his words, ''the country is on the brink of a third successful coup in five year.'' Related: Bamako: 2025-11-17 Militancy: The new face of al Qaeda Bamako: 2025-11-11 JNIM reinforcements arrived today in the Baoulé forest west of Bamako, Bamako: 2025-11-11 Female TikTok star is kidnapped and publicly executed by al-Qaeda jihadists in Mali as yet another African nation descends into chaos | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 |
| Posted by: Airandee 2025-11-20 05:21 |