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.
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Lack of awareness is probably why their influence has grown.
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.
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
Power hungry assholes with guns are always a thing