Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), an al Qaeda-linked jihadist coalition, has stepped up coordinated attacks in Mali and Burkina Faso in the past 48 hours, shifting from roadside ambushes to raids that briefly seize security positions before looting and burning them, according to local sources and accounts circulated by the group’s media networks.
On Feb. 15, fighters attacked a major Burkinabe military camp in or around Nouna in northwest Burkina Faso, with reports differing on the precise site but placing it in the country’s western or northwestern sector. Local and security sources said the assault began with vehicle-borne explosives used to breach the perimeter, followed by an assault by large numbers of fighters on motorbikes, with exchanges lasting several hours.
The attackers seized weapons and ammunition and captured multiple vehicles, including seven to 10 pickup trucks mounted with machine guns and at least one armoured vehicle described as a “Vila”, the sources said. They also took heavy and medium weapons, including RPG-7 rounds and heavy machine guns, along with radios, solar batteries and other logistical equipment. Casualty estimates from local sources put government losses at at least 25 to 30 soldiers and auxiliary Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDP), while the attackers were estimated to have lost 10 to 15 fighters in airstrikes after the raid, with most bodies removed from the scene.
On Feb. 16, gunmen on motorbikes attacked the gendarmerie post in Kouimba, in the Tominian cercle of the Segou region in central Mali, briefly taking control of the site before setting it on fire and withdrawing with small arms, ammunition and motorbikes, according to local sources. Images circulated from the aftermath showed the compound burned out, and local accounts said the attackers used accelerants to ensure the post was put out of service before reinforcements arrived.
Analysts say the twin raids reflect a tactic of “temporary sovereignty” based on a strike–loot–burn–withdraw model that aims to break the aura of state control, weaken the morale of locally recruited auxiliaries, and replenish stocks directly from national arsenals rather than relying on cross-border smuggling.
The escalation comes as Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger deepen military coordination under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). Local observers say the timing and geography of the two attacks point to cross-border planning intended to show the coalition can hit multiple theatres and undermine the credibility of joint operations.
Burkinabe authorities said they carried out retaliatory strikes overnight and at dawn around Nouna, claiming to have destroyed a militant logistics base. JNIM has not confirmed those claims.
