Victory for al-Qaeda’s Affiliate in Mali Would be a Regional Catastrophe

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The article warns that a victory by al-Qaeda’s affiliate Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin in Mali would be a regional catastrophe. Unlike some other groups, JNIM seeks to dismantle international borders and has radical aims, posing a heightened security threat.

Mali is not Syria, and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin is not Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham.While the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime and the rise of the Ahmed al-Sharaa government in Damascus, Syria can be seen as a net positive for regional security in the Levant, a Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin victory in Mali would devastate the region.Unlike Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin is a horizontally integrated transnational coalition committed to dismantling existing international borders, with a rank and file too radical to accept an Islamic Emirate of Mali as a terminal goal. Iyad Ag Ghali, the leader of The post Victory for al-Qaeda’s Affiliate in Mali Would be a Regional Catastrophe appeared first on War on the Rocks.