Mali: Details of Islamic State attacks near Niger border emerge

As Mali continues its fight against Islamist terrorism, details of two attacks perpetrated by the Islamic State near the Niger border have emerged, according to RFI and agencies on March 31st.

Between March 26th and 27th, the Islamic State carried out two attacks in the northeastern town of Ménaka, which neighbours the Gao and Kidal regions.

On March 26th, jihadists ambushed a Malian Armed Forces (FAMA) patrol, its Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA) auxiliaries and the Russian Africa Corps in Terazé, roughly 70 kilometres north of Ménaka.

FAMA released a statement on March 27th, claiming it neutralised “around fifty terrorists”, but did not mention the ambush; no official death toll has been released, and jihadists allegedly took bodies with them as they fled.

On March 27th, militants stormed the Touloupe checkpoint, on the southeastern outskirts of Ménaka; two soldiers were killed along with at least two children, while equipment was stolen.

Jihadists seized much of the Ménaka region and parts of Gao and Ansongo in 2023, vowing to fight the military junta government, which was installed following a 2021 military coup.

Additionally, the Kidal region is a Tuareg separatist stronghold, which FAMA recaptured from rebels in 2023.

Separatists from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) ambushed FAMA and Russian auxiliaries near Kidal on February 18th and March 4th.

Throughout Mali, jihadists have targeted FAMA and Russian forces, with the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) killing around 10 people near the Mauritanian border on March 9th.

JNIM have imposed a fuel blockade since September 2025, which they envision will destabilise the junta and lead to the establishment of an Islamic State in Mali.

While JNIM is the primary group active in Mali, the Islamic State maintains a presence in the country, but mainly operates in neighbouring Niger’s Tillabéri region.

Amid internal strife linked to jihadist insurgencies and separatist rebels, Mali’s junta has increasingly sought strategic and security ties with Russia.

Russia’s influence is not limited to Mali; Burkina Faso and Niger have also increasingly sought support from Russian mercenaries to maintain stability.

The three Sahel countries are junta-led former French colonies that have struggled to contain rising Islamist violence.

It was reported on March 19th that the Sahel accounted for nearly half of all terrorism-related deaths in 2025, with jihadist organisations becoming increasingly entrenched in the Sahel and West Africa more broadly.

RFI and agencies, Maghrebi.org