If the success of the offensives against the Malian army demonstrated the ability of the rebel coalition to fight hand in hand, many experts wonder about the objectives of this unnatural alliance: on the one hand, the Jnim wants to impose sharia law in Mali. On the other, the Tuareg of the FLA, whose goal is to obtain independence for the North.

Published on: 04/30/2026 - 5:34 p.m.

Large-scale attacks, simultaneous and carried out in several cities across the country, up to the capital Bamako. Since this weekend, Mali has been plunged into security chaos in the face of the dazzling offensive led by the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (Jnim), affiliated with Al-Qaeda, and the Tuareg of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), who have regained control of the town of Kidal.

A degree of sophistication which reflects a strong rapprochement between the two groups, determined to join forces against the Malian junta and their Russian auxiliaries. According to experts, the FLA provides a form of legitimacy and territorial anchoring to the jihadists who provide the firepower and expertise necessary to destabilize the Malian security apparatus.

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This unprecedented assault since 2012 notably cost the life of the Malian Minister of Defense, General Sadio Camara, considered one of the main architects of the rapprochement between his country and Moscow.

“The coordination between these two groups shows that they had preparation meetings for several months and that these attacks were planned. This goes much further than what we have seen in the past,” notes Nina Wilen, director of the Africa program at the Egmont Institute, on France 24.

“The new fact is this coordination between the northern rebels and the Jnim. They did not simply fight side by side but together,” adds Wassim Nasr, expert on jihadist movements at France 24.

“Political” and “historical” differences

This rapprochement between separatists and jihadists is reminiscent of that observed in the early 2010s when the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and terrorist groups, notably Ansar Dine, allied themselves against the Malian state. A configuration which led France to launch Operation Serval in 2013 to block the advance of this rebel alliance towards Bamako.

In Mali, the Tuareg rebels cultivate a certain proximity with the jihadists, embodied by Iyad Ag Ghali, himself a former Tuareg rebel leader in the 1990s who became founder and leader of Jnim in 2017. However, the two groups also maintain a rivalry for control of territory and resources in the north and center of the country.

But this antagonism goes far beyond a simple competition between two rival groups. In reality, everything seems to oppose the Jnim and the FLA, casting doubt on the solidity of this alliance of circumstance, even unnatural.

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"There are great political and historical differences between the Jnim, which wants the application of sharia, and the FLA which wants the self-determination of the Tuareg and a form of territorial autonomy in the North. There is here an opposition between a religious ideology and a secular ideology but also in the relationship with the different communities. Where the FLA wants self-determination for a people, the Jnim has a multinational and multi-ethnic identity", poses Djenabou Cissé, specialist in defense and security issues in Africa at the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS).

A historically nomadic people spread across several states - Mali, Niger, Algeria, Libya and Burkina Faso - the Tuareg have been waging armed struggles against their "marginalization" for decades, particularly around Kidal. Their objective is to obtain the independence of Azawad, a vast desert territory located in the North, corresponding to the administrative regions of Kidal, Gao, Ménaka and Timbuktu, to which are added parts of Mopti in the center of the country.

“No common objectives”

For its part, Jnim was born in Mali from the unification of several terrorist groups. From the start, it placed itself under the banner of Salafist ideology and Al-Qaeda, while defending a local agenda. The movement quickly gained influence in Burkina Faso and Niger, leading a merciless fight against its main challenger: the Islamic State in the Great Sahara (EIGS) organization. Its priority is to impose a new model of society dictated by Islamic law throughout the region: compulsory veil, separation of men and women or even promotion of a rigorous reading of the Koran.

“These two groups have a common enemy [the Malian junta, editor's note], but they do not have common objectives,” summarizes Nina Wilen, recalling that the content of the agreement between the Jnim and the FLA remains unknown.

Differences in priorities which subtly manifested themselves after the capture of Kidal. The Tuareg separatists announced to AFP on Wednesday their intention to conquer all the major cities in northern Mali, in accordance with their agenda. For their part, the Jnim jihadists threatened the day before to establish a blockade of Bamako, a sign of their primary desire to stifle the junta.

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At the end of October, the jihadist group also imposed a partial blockade on the capital for several weeks in the hope of stifling the economy and fueling popular discontent.

"This strangulation technique is intended to bring down the regime like a ripe fruit. But in reality, the rebels like the Islamists know that they do not have the means, neither in men nor in material, to sustainably hold a capital like Bamako", deciphers on France 24 the journalist and teacher at Sciences-Po Vincent Hugeux. "The objective [of Jnim Editor's note] is therefore above all to one day have a 'jihado-compatible' regime in Bamako capable of validating its societal demands."

On the ground, uncertainty continues to reign. If Russia has renewed its support for the Malian authorities, the noose seems to be tightening around the junta of Assimi Goïta. According to RFI, which reports the testimony of several residents, a blockade of the capital has begun to be put in place with roadblocks erected on several roads leading to Bamako. If the men of Jnim allow the inhabitants to leave the city, they now prohibit all entry.

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