West Africa’s Sahel region has become the latest scene of jihadist in-fighting, after Islamic State group (IS) revealed it is engaged in fierce clashes with al-Qaeda militants in Mali and Burkina Faso.
IS made the revelation on 7 May in a detailed report in its weekly newspaper al-Naba.
It blamed al-Qaeda’s Sahel affiliate, Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), for starting the fight and mobilising large forces to attack IS positions in the two countries.
The scenario is familiar. IS and al-Qaeda affiliates have already locked horns in other jihadists hotspots, such as Yemen, Somali and Syria, competing for influence, recruits and resources.
The IS article contradicts mainstream reports from earlier this year that suggested the two groups were collaborating in the region.
The in-fighting could have an impact on jihadist operations against local and foreign troops in the Sahel, where both groups have significantly stepped up attacks since last year.
What did IS say?
In its report, IS decried recent al-Qaeda attacks on IS militants in Mali and Burkina Faso, where both groups are active.
It said JNIM, on the orders of its leaders Iyad Ag Ghaly and Amadou Koufa, had amassed big forces to target IS on a number of occasions in both countries since April.
It also complained that JNIM was blocking fuel supplies from reaching IS militants and detaining locals suspected of supporting IS.
This JNIM move, IS said, coincides with an upscale in operations against IS by regional African and French troops in the Sahel.
JNIM, IS claimed, used these conditions as an opportunity to target IS at this particular time.
It alleged that IS was the only obstacle facing JNIM today, since the latter has agreed to hold talks with the Mali government and has allegedly made peace with all pro and anti government forces and tribes in northern Mali, including “the pagan” Dogon self-defence militias.
IS has previously sought to use JNIM’s willingness to open dialogue with Malian authorities as a means to undermine the al-Qaeda group’s jihadist credentials.
Why now?
It is not clear why IS and JNIM have not publicly discussed the clashes until this latest IS report, especially given that, according to IS, there has been heavy fighting since 17 April.
The IS revelation, however, follows an unverified statement attributed to JNIM and shared online on 5 May by unofficial jihadist accounts, in which the al-Qaeda group firmly rejected a purported IS ceasefire proposal.
If the statement is authentic, it may explain why IS decided to go public with the story now.
The alleged JNIM statement came in response to an unverified audio message shared online in April and attributed to an IS Mali commander identified as Abdel Hakim al-Sahraoui. The purported IS message proposed a truce if JNIM agreed to pay blood money for slain IS fighters and to release IS prisoners.
Neither group has officially referred to the unverified messages attributed to them.