Mali: When Jihadists Win
January 27, 2026
54 min
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168 of 210
January 27, 2026
Mali: When Jihadists Win
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Conflicted Episodes Around January 27, 2026
Episode 168 of 210 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
Mali: When Jihadists Win
Summary
As jihadist violence in Mali escalates, Thomas and Aimen trace the history and present-day power of JNIM (‘Support Group for Islam and Muslims’), an Al Qaeda affiliate that has been laying siege to the capital Bamako. Will Mali’s secular state survive? Or is a jihadist takeover of the whole country now inevitable?
**Including BONUS MATERIAL for subscribers to the Conflicted Community!**
Thomas and Aimen discuss:
The evolution of JNIM out of AQIM (‘Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’)
The jihadist ‘privateers’ who built the organisation
Slavery and racial hierarchy in the Sahel
Will JNIM’s leader Iyad ag-Ghali become the King of Mali?
Fuel blockades, economic warfare, and attacks on the capital, Bamako
Whether Mali can still exist as a sovereign state
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