In Mali, every foreign intervention failed - and militants adapted

In Mali, every foreign intervention failed - and militants adapted Submitted by Omar Ashour on Tue, 05/19/2026 - 15:06 French operations and Wagner's repression helped turn JNIM into a sophisticated force that blends drones, blockades and political strategy - tactics now spreading across the Sahel A framed portrait and the coffin of Malian Defence Minister Sadio Camara are displayed during his state funeral in Bamako, Mali, on 30 April 2026 (Mali presidency/Reuters) Off "Unite against the terrorist junta. " That rare French-language appeal , attributed to Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) following its April 2026 offensive across Mali, was more than propaganda. It was an operational communique: a call to see Mali's military regime not as the "shield" of the republic, but as the target of the "revolution".