[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ds-1col clearfix\u0022\u003E\n\n  \n\n  \n  \u003Cp\u003EUpon the announcement of JNIM\u2019s formation, media coverage volleyed between two narratives. Some media sources such as \u003Cem\u003ENewsweek\u003C\/em\u003E claimed the merger was an attempt by al-Qaeda to reassert influence against the growing presence of ISIS in the region, while other sources, such as the Associated Press, claimed the extremist group was opportunistic of Mali\u2019s ongoing crisis. \u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EConor Gaffey, \u003Cem\u003ENewsweek\u003C\/em\u003E, June 6, 2017, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/isis-africa-al-qaeda-africa-boko-haram-621443\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/isis-africa-al-qaeda-africa-boko-haram-621443\u003C\/a\u003E; \u201c3 Mali Islamic extremist groups merge, pledge to al-Qaeda,\u201d Associated Press, March 2, 2017, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/3-mali-islamic-extremist-groups-merge-pledge-to-al-qaeda\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/3-mali-islamic-extremist-groups-merge-pledge-to-al-qaeda\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E Given Mali\u2019s fragile security environment, and Bamako\u2019s increasingly strained and underequipped security forces, JNIM was faced with favorable circumstances to assert power in the region. Morocco World News noted that JNIM\u2019s formation was not only a threat to Mali, but to North Africa as well, as other radical groups will look to JNIM and attempt to \u201ccarry out other attacks, larger in number and scale.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003ESaad Eddine Lamzouwaq, \u201cISIS, AQIM, and Polisario: How Do Terrorist Threats in the Sahel Affect Morocco?,\u201d Morocco World News, June 2, 2017, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.moroccoworldnews.com\/2017\/06\/218501\/isis-aqim-and-polisario-terrorist-threats-sahel-affect-morocco\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/www.moroccoworldnews.com\/2017\/06\/218501\/isis-aqim-and-polisario-terrorist-threats-sahel-affect-morocco\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E Following JNIM\u2019s announcement, France 24 mentioned that neighboring governments will come to see Mali \u201cas a launchpad [for extremists] for attacks against other countries in the region.\u201d Accordingly, Africa News noted that Mali\u2019s delay in implementing the necessary security forces in its jihadist-heavy northern region has made neighboring west African countries vulnerable to increased attacks.\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003E \u201cIslamist groups in Mali merge, pledge allegiance to al-Qaeda,\u201d Africa News, March 3, 2017, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.africanews.com\/2017\/03\/03\/islamist-groups-in-mali-merge-and-pledge-allegiance-to-al-qaeda\/\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/www.africanews.com\/2017\/03\/03\/islamist-groups-in-mali-merge-and-pledge-allegiance-to-al-qaeda\/\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EOnline publication Middle East Eye as well as Morocco World News, focused on the internal shifts among violent extremist groups in the region. Leaders who lost sway within their local groups, such as Mokhtar Belmokhtar of al-Mourabitoun, shifted allegiance to JNIM to reassert their authority within the AQIM network. \u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003E Malek Bachir, \u201cEXCLUSIVE: Notorious leader of Saharan al-Qaeda group loses power,\u201d Middle East Eye, May 9, 2017, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.middleeasteye.net\/news\/exclusive-notorious-leader-saharan-al-qaeda-group-loses-power\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/www.middleeasteye.net\/news\/exclusive-notorious-leader-saharan-al-qaeda-group-loses-power\u003C\/a\u003E; Hassan Masiky, \u201cAlgerian Ineptitude Leads to Resurgence of Al-Qaeda Across the Sahel and Sahara,\u201d Morocco World News, March 8, 2017, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.moroccoworldnews.com\/2017\/03\/210406\/algerian-ineptitude-leads-resurgence-al-qaeda-across-sahel-sahara\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/www.moroccoworldnews.com\/2017\/03\/210406\/algerian-ineptitude-leads-resurgence-al-qaeda-across-sahel-sahara\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E Other media sources focused on how JNIM was the manifestation of AQIM\u2019s resilience. According to Alia Brahimi of Al Jazeera, AQIM \u201cwithstood the chokehold of the Algerian security services, U.S. drones, and the French-led intervention in Mali, to launch a range of attacks in recent years, whether storming a beach resort in Ivory Coast or conducting a low-level insurgency in northern Mali.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EAlia Brahimi, \u201cISIL after Mosul: Insurgency and rivalry,\u201d Al Jazeera, March 19, 2017, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/opinions\/2017\/3\/19\/isil-after-mosul-insurgency-and-rivalry\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/opinions\/2017\/3\/19\/isil-after-mosul-insurgency-and-rivalry\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EFrance 24 further noted that since the four local leaders were all in the same video, they easily can collaborate and meet with one another, demonstrating \u201cthat it is impossible to monitor this huge region militarily.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003E\u201cThree jihadi groups active in Mali announce merger,\u201d France 24, March 3, 2017, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/20170303-three-jihadi-groups-mali-announce-merger-al-qaeda\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/20170303-three-jihadi-groups-mali-announce-merger-al-qaeda\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E The immediacy in which JNIM\u2019s leadership could convene within what Saad Eddine Lamzouwaq of Morocco World News called a \u201cgeographical safe haven\u201d is critical when each leader has \u201cties with local ethnic communities and tribes\u201d that can be leveraged against the \u201cweakness of some central governments.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003E Saad Eddine Lamzouwaq, \u201cISIS, AQIM, and Polisario: How Do Terrorist Threats in the Sahel Affect Morocco?,\u201d Morocco World News, June 2, 2017, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.moroccoworldnews.com\/2017\/06\/218501\/isis-aqim-and-polisario-terrorist-threats-sahel-affect-morocco\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/www.moroccoworldnews.com\/2017\/06\/218501\/isis-aqim-and-polisario-terrorist-threats-sahel-affect-morocco\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAs of 2022, international coverage on JNIM remains frequent as the insurgent group has subjected Mali to increasing levels of violence for the past five years with no prospect of slowing down. Although media sources are not always precise in their differentiation of attacks attributed to JNIM or AQIM, the consensus remains that the terror group remains beyond the control of Malian and foreign forces.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n","dialogOptions":{"minWidth":850,"resizable":true,"modal":true,"title":"JNIM Formation"}},{"command":"doFootnotes"}]