Country Report on Terrorism 2024 - Chapter 4 - Jama’at Nusratal-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM)

Jama’at Nusratal-Islam wal-Muslimin

Aka:  Jamaat Nosrat al-Islam wal-Mouslimin; Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims; Group to Support Islam and Muslims; GSIM; GNIM; Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen.

Description:  JNIM was designated as an FTO on September 6, 2018.  JNIM had described itself as al-Qa’ida’s official branch in Mali and had claimed responsibility for numerous attacks and kidnappings since its 2017 formation, when the Sahara Branch of AQIM, al-Murabitoun, Ansar al-Din, and the Macina Liberation Front came together to form JNIM.  The organization was led by Iyad ag Ghali.  Multiple JNIM senior leaders had been killed in recent years, including JNIM’s former second-in-command, Ali Maychou, in 2019, senior JNIM commander Bah Ag Moussa in 2020, and senior leader Abdallaye Ag Albaka in 2021.

Activities:  In July 2024, JNIM claimed responsibility for an attack against an army barracks in northern Togo that killed at least six people.  The group also claimed responsibility for an August attack that killed up to 600 people in the village of Barsalogho in central Burkina Faso, marking one of the deadliest attacks in Africa in recent decades.  Additionally, the group attacked several locations in Bamako, Mali, in September, including a military training camp, with that single incident killing more than 70 people and injuring more than 200.

Strength:  JNIM was estimated to have between 5,000 and 6,000 fighters.

Location/Area of Operation:  Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger; it also conducted attacks in Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, and Togo.

Funding and External Aid:  JNIM received funding through kidnappings for ransom and extortion, and from smugglers and traffickers who paid a tax in exchange for permission and safe transit through JNIM-controlled trafficking routes in Mali.

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