JNIM Attacks in Western Mali Reshape Sahel Conflict

By attacking transportation arteries, fuel tankers, and population centers in western Mali, the JNIM coalition is targeting the economic, security, and political vulnerabilities of the military junta in Bamako.
The Maçina Liberation Front (FLM) launched a series of seven simultaneous attacks spanning hundreds of kilometers in western Mali in border towns near Senegal and Mauritania on July 1, 2025. This represented a dramatic shift in tactics and an expansion in the reach of the Jama’at Nasrat al Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) coalition of which FLM is the most active member. Over the past year, nearly 20 percent of JNIM violent activity in Mali—resulting in a doubling of fatalities to over 450 deaths—took place in the west and south of the country. JNIM had previously been primarily concentrated in north and central Mali. Only 8 percent of violent episodes linked to JNIM were in western and southern Mali the year before.







