The administration of US President Donald Trump is now considering carrying out military action in the West African country of Mali. The country could strike the al-Qaeda-linked militant group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) in Mali. The US newspaper The Washington Post reported this.
According to the report, if the plan is approved, it would be the eighth country in which the United States has carried out a military strike since Trump took office for his second term.
Mali is a Muslim-majority country in West Africa. About 95 percent of its people follow Islam. The country’s capital is Bamako, and its historic city of Timbuktu is an ancient centre of Islamic learning and culture.
Since its emergence in 2017, JNIM has claimed responsibility for multiple deadly attacks, kidnappings and acts of terrorism. The al-Qaeda-allied group has recently stepped up attacks in various West African countries.
Last month it carried out a deadly attack on an airport in Niger’s capital. The report also said the group is creating terror inside Mali through fuel blockades, blockading various areas and violent activities.
Although Trump presents himself as a “president of peace” and talks of a “peace through strength” policy, his administration is currently considering military action in Mali even amid the long ongoing conflict with Iran, The Washington Post said.
If this strike is approved, Mali will also be added to the list of countries where the United States has conducted military action since 2025.
The Trump administration has earlier ordered strikes in Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen.
In addition, the report claimed that more than 200 people have been killed in raids on vessels in the Caribbean region and the eastern Pacific over allegations of drug trafficking.
Why does Mali matter?
Mali is one of Africa’s largest gold-producing countries. The country also has huge lithium reserves, which are a focus of interest for foreign companies.
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are currently members of the Alliance of Sahel States, a bloc of military-ruled countries.
After elected governments were overthrown in military coups, the countries reduced ties with Western nations and leaned towards Russia for security cooperation.
Who favours a military strike?
According to the report, among the Trump administration officials who favour a strike against JNIM in Mali is Sebastian Gorka, the National Security Council’s senior director for counterterrorism and a deputy assistant to the president.
The White House, however, has not officially confirmed that the president is considering approving military action.
A White House official told The Independent that the United States wants the countries of the Sahel region to succeed against terrorism. But he blamed Russia for Mali’s deteriorating security situation, saying Russia had not proved effective as a security partner. He also said other African countries should learn from Russia’s failure in tackling terrorism.
Washington’s call
The Trump administration has called on the Sahel-bloc countries and other coastal countries of West Africa to buy US military equipment and services for the fight against terrorism.
At the same time, Washington’s administration has called on NATO and regional allies to come forward to help Mali.
The report said that this year JNIM has carried out multiple attacks in Bamako and various other areas. It also claimed that the country’s defence minister was killed in a suicide attack. This month there were several days of clashes between Mali’s army and Russia’s Africa Corps force and JNIM. During this the group shot down a military helicopter and forcibly displaced the residents of a village.
Last week JNIM carried out an ambush on a joint military convoy. Africa Corps members were forced to retreat and left many Malian soldiers behind. The militants later captured and killed many of them.
The human-rights situation
According to data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), at least 232 civilians were killed in attacks by JNIM and other militant groups last year. Over the same period, 925 civilians died in operations by Mali’s army and Russian mercenary forces, the ACLED report said.
Questions over strategy
Last year the Trump administration took steps to increase intelligence-sharing and military cooperation with the military governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. The aim was to increase US access to Africa’s mineral resources and to counter the influence of Russia and China. But there are questions over how effective this strategy is.
Wassim Nasr, a senior researcher at the Soufan Center, told The Washington Post that choosing the path of a military solution once again would not solve the problem. France followed this strategy for 10 years and Russia has been trying the same for five years, he said, but the situation has only got worse.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report