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| Africa North |
| Following the coordinated offensive in Mali and the capture of Kidal: Who is really calling the shots? |
| 2026-08-18 |
| by Kiria Borak and Aman Bezreh [MilitantWire] The coordinated attacks across Mali on 25 April 2026 marked a major turning point in the country’s conflict. More importantly, they brought into the open what had long been suspected: the growing military cooperation between the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM). While the two groups had previously been linked through local arrangements and suspected battlefield coordination, the scale, sophistication and synchronisation of the offensive demonstrated a close operational partnership. The offensive ended with the FLA taking control of the city of Kidal and forcing the withdrawal of Malian forces and Russia’s Africa Corps, marking one of the movement’s most significant military victories in recent years. However, capturing Kidal from government forces may prove easier than governing it under the FLA–JNIM arrangement. The FLA’s political ambitions and JNIM’s jihadist agenda do not fully align, and both groups are likely to face substantial challenges in jointly administering the city while sustaining their partnership. In this context, the central question is no longer who can seize Kidal, but who will ultimately shape its future. More at the link |
| Posted by:badanov |