Jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have engaged in fierce clashes across the border regions of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, with hundreds of fighters reportedly killed.
The two rival groups have been at war since 2019 over territorial control, supply routes and influence over local communities. Their rivalry has also contributed to the expansion of extremist violence across the Sahel, despite efforts by the military-led governments of the three countries to contain the insurgency.
Meanwhile, the Islamic State in the Sahel Province, I-S-S-P, has claimed responsibility for killing more than 400 fighters from Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, J-N-I-M, and its leaders, during clashes in Burkina Faso’s Oudalan Province, near the borders with Mali and Niger.
A conflict monitoring organization, ACLED representative Heni Nsaibia says if the reported death toll is confirmed, it would be the deadliest single battle recorded between the two groups.
