Terror's rising tide: JNIM's deadly expansion in Mali
The Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM), a group the US has warned about, is growing in strength and spreading terror in Africa. They have just released recordings of an attack on a military base in Mali, where dozens of soldiers were killed. The videos are shocking in both their brutality and the sight of a child alongside the terrorists.
- JNIM is a Salafi jihadist organization.
- It is already strong enough to potentially attack US territory, warned General Michael Langley, head of the US Africa Command.
The attack took place on June 1, and now the Support Group for Islam and Muslims—a powerful terrorist organization linked to Al-Qaeda—has released a video. Members of the group attacked a military base in Boulkessi in central Mali.
The Malian army did not report how many of its members were killed. The Associated Press reported a few days ago that at least 60 were killed and 40 injured, but JNIM claims there were more than 100 victims.
The terrorists attacked by surprise. They moved, as usual, on motorcycles, which provide them with the mobility and the ability to carry out quick, unexpected military actions.
In the video released a week after the attack, which we are not publishing due to its brutality, a large number of JNIM members are seen gathered near the military base. The terrorists swiftly launched an offensive. Some of the soldiers who survived the attack were taken captive.
A child is also visible among the JNIM members. It is unknown if the child directly participated in the attack or watched from a distance, but this is further evidence that the Support Group for Islam and Muslims recruits the young. Numerous such cases have been noted in reports by the organization "Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict." Some of the children recruited by JNIM, it stated, were as young as 6 years old.
The Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM) - what is this organization?
JNIM is a Salafi jihadist organization, formed in 2017 as a result of merging several other armed groups. Their leaders pledged allegiance to Ayman al-Zawahiri—Osama Bin Laden’s successor, who was killed at the end of July 2022 in a US drone strike.
The Support Group for Islam and Muslims is one of the most powerful terrorist organizations in the world. It operates mainly in Mali and neighbouring Burkina Faso, but is also present in other countries in the Sahel and Maghreb.
General Michael Langley, head of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), warned at the end of May that JNIM is now so large and strong that it is capable of conducting attacks on US soil.
We're keeping a good eye on this, because they could have the capacity to attack the homeland, declared Gen. Langley.
The influence of JNIM in Mali is immense. The group, estimated to have around 6,000 members, controls numerous towns and villages in Mali and Burkina Faso. Attacks on military bases, like the one in Boulkessi, have become a regular part of their activities. In the second half of May, they attacked, among others, a base in Dioura, where they killed over 40 Malian soldiers.
