Mali’s Jihadist Surge Should Be A Wake Up Call

BusinessAerospace & DefenseMali’s Jihadist Surge Should Be A Wake Up CallByIlan Berman,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Ilan Berman writes about the Middle East and Eurasia.Follow AuthorMay 11, 2026, 09:15am EDTIslamic militants are gaining major ground in Mali. The consequences for Africa are profound. Corbis via Getty ImagesIt’s the most important story that most people aren’t watching. Late last month, Islamist militants affiliated with Jama’at Nusrat al Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate active in Africa’s lawless Sahel region, spearheaded a series of coordinated attacks across the nation of Mali. Over the span of two days, the group – working in tandem with ethnic Tuareg separatists – struck military targets in and around the capital, Bamako, hit the country’s international airport, seized the northern city of Kidal, and assassinated the country’s defense minister. The offensive represented a dangerous escalation. JNIM already dominates vast stretches of territory across Mali and the broader Sahel, sustaining itself through drug trafficking, extortion, kidnappings for ransom, and fuel interdiction. It has openly proclaimed its ambition to establish an African caliphate. Until now, however, the group’s plan was to replicate the Taliban's path back to power in Afghanistan, waiting out the existing government until it collapses from within. The April assaults suggest a turn toward more immediate, opportunistic bids for power. Mali’s disorder is not an isolated flare up. It is part of a broader – and ominous – continental shift. With the collapse of the ISIS caliphate in Syria late last decade, the epicenter of global terrorism has shifted south and west. As the Africa Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University has documented, the continent of Africa has become the most active global theater in terms of terrorist activity. Insurgency hotspots now stretch from Mali, Burkina...