Mali is under siege by two insurgent movements, the Tuareg rebellion and the jihadist insurgency, which have joined forces with the aim of overthrowing the government. Following last weekend’s joint offensive, which cost the life of the military junta’s Minister of Defense Sadio Camara, the jihadists have imposed a blockade on the capital, Bamako, attempting to prevent the entry of goods and people via the main roads. In the north, Kidal, a perpetually contested city, has fallen into rebel hands. The architect of this alliance is none other than Iyad Ag Ghali, the leader of the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, JNIM), who has spread the jihadist threat throughout the central Sahel and whose life story could easily fill a novel.

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