[Fronts] The nation of Mali is in a state of chaos, with a complex power struggle that began in 2012. Learn about the four main actors in this war and the history behind
by Brant Philip
The nation of Mali is in a state of what we might charitably term “meltdown”. On 25th April, coordinated attacks by terrorist and insurgent groups paralyzed the country, killed leading government figures, and placed the capital of Bamako under siege. Three weeks later, the nation remains in chaos.
To an outside observer, that chaos may have seemed to spring from nowhere. But while rarely in the headlines, the Malian conflict is an ongoing power struggle that began in 2012. Key players have evolved over time, some merging into coalitions and others splitting into factions. To truly grasp the complexity of today’s escalating tensions, it’s vital to understand the four main actors in this war. What follows is a quick primer for anyone new to this most-overlooked of conflicts.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Mali's April 2026 crisis marks a new phase in a war rooted in post-colonial borders and defined by four competing armed factions.
JNIM and the FLA have forged an operational alliance that retook Kidal and struck Bamako despite their ideological differences.
The Malian junta's reliance on Russian mercenaries has fueled civilian massacres, enabled jihadist expansion, and stripped the government of territorial control.
The Islamic State's Sahel branch remains doctrinaire and isolated, refusing alliances while expanding recruitment into northwestern Nigeria.
THE MALIAN STATE
The independent state of Mali was established in 1960 following roughly 70 years as a French colony. It was originally part of the Mali Federation, which included Senegal, though Senegal seceded shortly after independence. More importantly for this primer, post-independence Mali suffered an eyewatering number of coups, rebellions, and insurgencies.
In 1968, the first Malian coup d’état was carried out by a group of military officers led by Moussa Traoré. He secured his power as head of state until 1991, suppressing three attempted coups. But while Mali in this era may have had fewer armed takeovers than certain neighbors, it suffered from another ill common to post-colonial nations: armed insurgency.
As across West Africa, the Malian borders were drawn by foreigners with little to no consideration for the ethnic, linguistic, and cultural differences between local groups. The consequences began almost-immediately after independence, starting with the first Tuareg rebellion in 1962.
Although this was crushed with grim-if-admirable efficiency by the Malian army (and its backers in Morocco and Algeria), this swift victory would in turn inspire additional rebellions, largely due to the brutality of the Malian army.
The most-spectacular of these was the second Tuareg uprising, which kicked off in 1990. At its root was frustration in the country’s north about a lack of autonomy and opportunities compared to those in the south. And while Moussa Traoré initially tried his old tactics of brutal dissent, his replacement by Alpha Konaré resulted in a government more open to negotiation. Konaré granted several concessions to the north, which led to the creation of the self-governing region of Kidal and the redirection of more resources to the area. These concessions ultimately led to a ceasefire in 1996.
In hindsight, what was most-significant about this second rebellion was the arrival of Iyad Ag Ghaly onstage. As the leader and founder of the People's Movement of Azawad (MPA), he both navigated the complex peace negotiations, while simultaneously laying the groundwork for his future role as a central figure in the regional insurgency. Although he began his career as a secular nationalist fighter, Ag Ghaly’s trajectory would eventually take a radical turn. One that would fundamentally reshape the Malian conflict in the 21st century.
In this, Ag Ghaly was helped by his time working abroad as a diplomat for the Malian state. While in Saudi Arabia, he began to move away from the secular Tuareg nationalism of his youth toward a hardline Islamist vision. So, when he was passed over for a leadership position in the newly formed National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in the early 2010s, he instead founded Ansar Dine. This group sought to impose Sharia law across Mali, creating a deep rift between the secular rebels and the rising Islamist factions.
Come January 2012, all these rebellions finally reached crisis point. The MNLA launched brutal attacks against Malian army camps in the north, with a spokesman officially announcing their struggle to free themselves from "Malian colonialism" and declaring the independence of Azawad, which included the regions of Kidal, Gao, and Timbuktu.
Almost simultaneously, in March that year, Ansar Dine under Iyad Ag Ghaly announced its own war against the Malian state. Only rather than a Tuareg homeland, the group’s goal was to establish an Islamic republic under Sharia law, a goal that brought it into immediate opposition with the secular, democratic MNLA.
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