World Conflicts
promptmason.org

Central Sahel insurgencies (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger)

Active High intensity Internationalized intrastate Africa 16 Jan 2012 to present

Military governments in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, backed by Russia's Africa Corps, fight al-Qaeda-linked JNIM and Islamic State Sahel. In April 2026 JNIM and the Tuareg-led FLA launched coordinated attacks across Mali, killing the defence minister and retaking Kidal. JNIM keeps a fuel blockade on Bamako and inflicted heavy army losses at Dioura in September 2026.

Conflict zones

Click a shape for details and sources

Zones, lines of contact and strike arcs are approximate and illustrative, drawn from public reporting. They are not authoritative; click a shape for its sources. Borders from Natural Earth, with Crimea shown as part of Ukraine in line with UN General Assembly resolution 68/262.

Key facts

Malian defence minister killed
Sadio Camara, 25 Apr 2026, Kati
Al Jazeera as of 26 Apr 2026
Kidal
Under FLA control after Africa Corps withdrawal (Apr 2026)
France 24 as of 27 Apr 2026
Soldiers killed at Dioura camp (Sep 2026)
At least 50 (other sources: over 100)
Africanews as of 14 Sep 2026
JNIM share of Sahel militant-linked deaths
76%
Africa Center for Strategic Studies as of 12 Aug 2026
Deaths in Niger in 2025 (ACLED)
1,939, over 1,200 in Tillaberi
Africa Defense Forum as of 1 Apr 2026
Reported fatalities, last 4 weeks (ACLED)
780
ACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026
Deaths in 2026, 1 Jan to 30 Sep 2026 (UCDP)
4,292 best estimate (3,972–7,281)
UCDP GED Candidate 26.0.9 as of 30 Sep 2026

Human cost

Fatalities
9.9K–11Krange across 2 sources
Killed in 2026 so far (UCDP)
4.3K
  • 4,292 estimatedUCDP GED Candidate 26.0.9 as of 30 Sep 2026UCDP best estimate, events 1 Jan to 30 Sep 2026; low 3,972, high 7,281
People displaced
2.6M–3Mrange across 2 sources
All forcibly displaced, country-wide (UNHCR)
4M
Recorded events, last 30 days
197

Parties and actors

  • Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) State armed forces · aligned with Alliance of Sahel States governments
  • Burkina Faso armed forces and VDP auxiliaries State armed forces and state-backed militia · aligned with Alliance of Sahel States governments
  • Niger armed forces State armed forces · aligned with Alliance of Sahel States governments
  • Russian Africa Corps Foreign state-linked military force · aligned with Alliance of Sahel States governments
  • Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) Non-state armed group (al-Qaeda affiliate)
  • Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) Non-state armed group (Tuareg-led separatist) · aligned with Cooperating with JNIM in Mali
  • Islamic State Sahel Province Non-state armed group

Parties are listed factually by name and role. Inclusion does not imply any judgement.

Negotiations

Negotiations hub

No negotiation track is currently tracked for this conflict.

Trend: events and reported fatalities by month

Events per month Reported fatalities per month
0 0 125 500 250 1K 375 1.5K 500 2KNov 2021: 166 events, 447 reported fatalitiesDec 2021: 270 events, 607 reported fatalitiesJan 2022: 329 events, 789 reported fatalities2022Feb 2022: 302 events, 702 reported fatalitiesMar 2022: 274 events, 1,518 reported fatalitiesApr 2022: 283 events, 751 reported fatalitiesMay 2022: 267 events, 884 reported fatalitiesJun 2022: 301 events, 976 reported fatalitiesJul 2022: 355 events, 844 reported fatalitiesAug 2022: 281 events, 701 reported fatalitiesSep 2022: 250 events, 632 reported fatalitiesOct 2022: 358 events, 754 reported fatalitiesNov 2022: 291 events, 645 reported fatalitiesDec 2022: 313 events, 965 reported fatalitiesJan 2023: 299 events, 709 reported fatalities2023Feb 2023: 290 events, 1,084 reported fatalitiesMar 2023: 282 events, 1,419 reported fatalitiesApr 2023: 363 events, 1,614 reported fatalitiesMay 2023: 334 events, 1,056 reported fatalitiesJun 2023: 301 events, 1,032 reported fatalitiesJul 2023: 315 events, 1,066 reported fatalitiesAug 2023: 255 events, 961 reported fatalitiesSep 2023: 277 events, 1,246 reported fatalitiesOct 2023: 299 events, 909 reported fatalitiesNov 2023: 312 events, 1,267 reported fatalitiesDec 2023: 383 events, 1,678 reported fatalitiesJan 2024: 266 events, 945 reported fatalities2024Feb 2024: 313 events, 1,342 reported fatalitiesMar 2024: 329 events, 1,169 reported fatalitiesApr 2024: 291 events, 1,058 reported fatalitiesMay 2024: 261 events, 1,571 reported fatalitiesJun 2024: 299 events, 1,625 reported fatalitiesJul 2024: 228 events, 1,031 reported fatalitiesAug 2024: 263 events, 1,404 reported fatalitiesSep 2024: 204 events, 618 reported fatalitiesOct 2024: 213 events, 654 reported fatalitiesNov 2024: 299 events, 1,042 reported fatalitiesDec 2024: 255 events, 832 reported fatalitiesJan 2025: 278 events, 891 reported fatalities2025Feb 2025: 287 events, 1,025 reported fatalitiesMar 2025: 372 events, 1,303 reported fatalitiesApr 2025: 248 events, 928 reported fatalitiesMay 2025: 361 events, 1,826 reported fatalitiesJun 2025: 267 events, 995 reported fatalitiesJul 2025: 236 events, 807 reported fatalitiesAug 2025: 250 events, 581 reported fatalitiesSep 2025: 234 events, 674 reported fatalitiesOct 2025: 277 events, 682 reported fatalitiesNov 2025: 374 events, 770 reported fatalitiesDec 2025: 299 events, 598 reported fatalitiesJan 2026: 347 events, 1,038 reported fatalities2026Feb 2026: 263 events, 971 reported fatalitiesMar 2026: 294 events, 808 reported fatalitiesApr 2026: 299 events, 1,412 reported fatalitiesMay 2026: 400 events, 1,085 reported fatalitiesJun 2026: 274 events, 1,120 reported fatalitiesJul 2026: 344 events, 1,418 reported fatalitiesAug 2026: 338 events, 871 reported fatalitiesSep 2026: 211 events, 583 reported fatalitiesOct 2026: 197 events, 780 reported fatalities
reportedACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026 Political violence events only (battles, explosions/remote violence, violence against civilians).
Show data table
MonthEventsFatalities
Oct 2026197780
Sep 2026211583
Aug 2026338871
Jul 20263441,418
Jun 20262741,120
May 20264001,085
Apr 20262991,412
Mar 2026294808
Feb 2026263971
Jan 20263471,038
Dec 2025299598
Nov 2025374770
Oct 2025277682
Sep 2025234674
Aug 2025250581
Jul 2025236807
Jun 2025267995
May 20253611,826
Apr 2025248928
Mar 20253721,303
Feb 20252871,025
Jan 2025278891
Dec 2024255832
Nov 20242991,042
Oct 2024213654
Sep 2024204618
Aug 20242631,404
Jul 20242281,031
Jun 20242991,625
May 20242611,571
Apr 20242911,058
Mar 20243291,169
Feb 20243131,342
Jan 2024266945
Dec 20233831,678
Nov 20233121,267
Oct 2023299909
Sep 20232771,246
Aug 2023255961
Jul 20233151,066
Jun 20233011,032
May 20233341,056
Apr 20233631,614
Mar 20232821,419
Feb 20232901,084
Jan 2023299709
Dec 2022313965
Nov 2022291645
Oct 2022358754
Sep 2022250632
Aug 2022281701
Jul 2022355844
Jun 2022301976
May 2022267884
Apr 2022283751
Mar 20222741,518
Feb 2022302702
Jan 2022329789
Dec 2021270607
Nov 2021166447

Events by type

Battles Explosions / remote violence Violence against civilians
0 125 250 375 500 20222023202420252026
reportedACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026

Most affected provinces

  1. Mopti (Mali) 365 events · 1,223 fatalities
  2. Segou (Mali) 353 events · 850 fatalities
  3. Est (Burkina Faso) 284 events · 851 fatalities
  4. Boucle du Mouhoun (Burkina Faso) 241 events · 530 fatalities
  5. Nord (Burkina Faso) 235 events · 494 fatalities
  6. Tillaberi (Niger) 233 events · 1,066 fatalities
  7. Centre-Nord (Burkina Faso) 229 events · 294 fatalities
  8. Sahel (Burkina Faso) 213 events · 1,365 fatalities
reportedACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026 Last 12 months, political violence events.

Sources and further reading

An unhandled error has occurred. Reload 🗙

Rejoining the server...

Rejoin failed... trying again in seconds.

Failed to rejoin.
Please retry or reload the page.

The session has been paused by the server.

Failed to resume the session.
Please retry or reload the page.