JNIM Expands in Mali: Global Terror Threat Looms Larger

Writing for Usanas Foundation, Peter Knoope, noted counter-terrorism and international cooperation expert, expressed concern over the lack of attention being given to the developments taking place in Mali.

He emphasised that even though the international community is preoccupied with other issues, ignoring events in Bamako will not make them disappear.

Calling for an urgent mobilisation of global expertise, he asserted that all available brainpower must be brought together to develop effective approaches, warning that Mali could very well be the starting point for something much bigger. He highlighted that JNIM aligned with the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a coalition of separatist forces seeking to establish an independent country in Northern Mali named Azawad.

"On the 25th of April, a well-orchestrated series of attacks shook the West African landlocked country. JNIM teamed up with the Tuaregs. The Tuaregs are the herdsmen living in the most northern, Sahelian region of Mali. The Malian minister of defence was killed by the terrorists in these attacks. A large part of the country is now under the control of JNIM and the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA). They are heading for the mining areas and may control the resources of the country very soon," Knoope detailed.

According to the expert, the emergence of a terrorist-run State in West Africa should keep all governments awake at night because Mali may serve as a focal point from where more terrorism can spread.

"It should remind us of the darkest hours of Daesh and the caliphate. JNIM is clever enough not to give its territory in Mali the same name. But it is clearly the objective to establish such a state based on the AQ ideology. And there is no indication that they will stop once they have taken Bamako. So far, no Malian Army, no Russian Wagner, nor African Corps has found an effective recipe to put a halt to them. Many thought that this issue would evaporate after the military defeat of Daesh in Syria and Iraq. West Africa shows that they were wrong."

The expert reckons that soft power to win hearts and minds is an important ingredient of any counter terrorism approach. And, to win hearts and minds, one needs to know what does the trick. Winning hearts and minds cannot be done based on assumptions. Never. It can only be done if the government knows what the real grievances are and how these existing grievances are exploited by the brokers of violence.

"Today's governance structures have failed to find the correct, effective mix of hard and soft power. This is true for the whole region. But it is most urgent for Mali," noted Knoope in his write-up for the Usanas Foundation.

- IANS