On 25 April 2026, JNIM and the Azawad Liberation Front launched the largest coordinated offensive in Mali since 2012. Kidal fell to rebel forces; Africa Corps withdrew from Kidal, Aguelhok and Tessalit. Defence Minister General Sadio Camara was killed by a vehicle-borne IED at his Kati residence. The intelligence chief was wounded in a separate attack. On 4 July, JNIM-FLA forces resumed coordinated attacks at Anefis and Kenio, opening a second phase of the offensive.

The Bamako economic blockade, in operation since September 2025, has disrupted fuel and food supply corridors. On 6 May JNIM set fire to a convoy of Moroccan freight trucks on the Bougouni-Bamako route. On 1 June a bus on the Bamako-Kayes highway was struck by a landmine, killing 8 and injuring 42.

Source: ACLED / Wikipedia 2026 Mali Offensives / UN Security Council Report July 2026

On 18 June 2026, JNIM struck Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, killing 11 soldiers and 2 civilians and losing 22 of its own fighters. It was the second attack on the airport in six months, following an ISSP strike in January. The airport also hosts the AES regional alliance headquarters, air force base, and drone fleet. ACLED West Africa analyst Heni Nsaibia described the attack as JNIM marking territory, a message directed simultaneously at the junta and its rival the Islamic State.

JNIM recorded its first attack in the Agadez region in October 2025 and has sustained operations in the Tillaberi region and along the Dosso-Benin-Nigeria borderlands throughout 2026.

Source: ACLED / PBS NewsHour 18 June 2026 / Security Council Report July 2026

In June 2026, Burkina Faso severed diplomatic ties with France, accusing Paris of harbouring neo-colonial ambitions and actively supporting subversive networks. France rejected the characterisation as hostile and unfounded. The break removes the last significant Western security partner from the AES bloc. More than half of Burkina Faso's territory remains outside effective government control as of mid-2026.

In May 2025, JNIM briefly seized the provincial capitals of Djibo and Diapaga in rapid succession. In August 2024, the Barsalogho massacre killed at least 130 civilians and wounded 200 more. ACLED records the VDP self-defence militia as increasingly unable to hold territory, limiting the state's capacity to reclaim contested zones.

Source: ACLED Economic Warfare Report Dec 2025 / CFR Conflict Tracker May 2026

JNIM is now the world's second deadliest terrorist group according to the Institute for Economics and Peace, responsible for more than 1,200 deaths across four countries in 2025. Between its formation in 2017 and end of 2025, JNIM was involved in 16,023 violent incidents resulting in an estimated 39,850 deaths across Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Benin and Togo (Crisis Group / ACLED).

JNIM's use of armed drones escalated from fewer than 10 recorded strikes in 2024 to approximately 80 in 2025. Violent events involving jihadist groups in the Benin-Niger-Nigeria borderlands increased by roughly 86 percent between 2024 and 2025, while related fatalities surged by over 260 percent (HSToday / ACLED).

Source: IEP Global Terrorism Index 2026 / ACLED May 2026 / Crisis Group ICG April 2026