Islamic State extremists have almost doubled the territory they control in Mali in less than a year, and their al-Qaida-linked rivals are capitalizing on the deadlock and perceived weakness of armed groups that signed a 2015 peace agreement, United Nations experts said in a new report.
The stalled implementation of the peace deal and sustained attacks on communities have offered the IS group and al-Qaida affiliates a chance “to re-enact the 2012 scenario,” they said.
Feels like trump came along and American/western media focused on him instead. I also thought ISIS was irrelevant
Conflict in the Sahel has been heating up over the past decade but it’s a lot of small groups.
The reason Americans are likely seeing this in their news cycles all of a sudden is the recent coup in Niger.
The US has a military base in Niger.
Mali and Burkina Faso are now aligned with Niger - and Mali has Wagner forces.
Niger is mineral rich and also a big supplier of uranium, particularly for France.
4% of the French uranium is from Niger, not really a big supplier
I’m willing to be corrected but I need more info. Is that what media are reporting where you are? It’s not really the impression I am getting. E.g
I mentioned France specifically because they had military cooperation agreements with Niger before the coup (as with Mali before that) and an estimated 1,500 troops there.
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ISIS is irrelevant. This is a splinter group in Mali. Closely related, but ISIS itself (as in the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) has been entirely forced back into the underground