A new, undeclared partnership between Tuareg separatists and an al-Qaeda-affiliated armed coalition is rocking Mali’s ruling junta and causing havoc across the country’s north.
Yet it remains unclear whether this collaboration has scope to become deeper and more official, or how long it will last.
On 25 April, Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) Tuareg separatists and Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam Wal-Muslimin (JNIM) fighters staged coordinated attacks on several Malian cities.
Sadio Camara, the defence minister, was killed in a suicide attack on his residence. And fighting has since been ongoing, with the rebels claiming control of the city of Kidal and strategic Tessalit military base in the northeast in recent days.
JNIM, a collection of armed groups from various Malian communities that formed an al-Qaeda-affiliated coalition in 2017, is blockading the capital Bamako and has called for a broad "common front" to "bring down the junta" and proceed with "a peaceful and inclusive transition".
