"Mali is under siege by two insurgent movements, the Tuareg rebellion and the jihadist insurgency, which have joined forces with the aim of overthrowing the government. Following last weekend's joint offensive, which cost the life of the military junta's Minister of Defense Sadio Camara, the jihadists have imposed a blockade on the capital, Bamako, attempting to prevent the entry of goods and people via the main roads. In the north, Kidal, a perpetually contested city, has fallen into rebel hands."
"The architect of this alliance is none other than Iyad Ag Ghali, the leader of the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, JNIM), who has spread the jihadist threat throughout the central Sahel and whose life story could easily fill a novel. Ag Ghali has been a fighter in Lebanon and Chad under Muammar Gaddafi, a Tuareg rebel, a lyricist and percussionist for the band Tinariwen, an advisor to the president of Mali, a hostage negotiator, a diplomat, and, after being radicalized by a group of Pakistani preachers, a jihadist leader."
"With a unique blend of violence and negotiation, Iyad Ag Ghali is no ordinary terrorist. He leads a powerful armed organization capable of challenging armies, governments, and Russian mercenaries, but at the same time, he understands the intricacies of politics and wields unparalleled control over tribal and communal power structures, key to the history and internal balance of his country. Without Iyad Ag Ghali, this alliance between Tuareg rebels and jihadists would not have existed."
"He knows both movements perfectly, he was involved in the rebellion of the 1990s, and currently, he is the one who directs all of JNIM's katibas (units) because he controls the logistical resources and the financing, says Bakary Sambe, director of the Timbuktu Institute-African Center for Peace Studies. On the Tuareg side, the path to this agreement was paved after the unification, at the end of 2024, of the different rebel factions"
Mali faces a combined insurgency from the Tuareg rebellion and a jihadist movement aiming to overthrow the government. After a joint offensive killed the military junta’s Minister of Defense Sadio Camara, jihadists imposed a blockade on Bamako to restrict goods and people through main roads. In the north, Kidal has fallen to rebel forces. The alliance is attributed to Iyad Ag Ghali, leader of JNIM, who has operated across multiple roles including fighter, advisor, negotiator, diplomat, and jihadist leader. His experience and control over tribal and communal power structures, logistics, and financing enable coordination of JNIM units and integration with Tuareg rebel efforts.
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