Mourdiah attack

Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, al-Qaeda's affiliate in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, has had a presence in the Wagadou Forest on the Malian-Mauritanian border since the late 2000s.^[1] The group has attacked Malian forces in towns and bases surrounding the forest throughout the Mali War and before, with a notable attack in the district capital of Nara in 2015.^[2] Since late 2023 and into early 2024, JNIM has intensified its attacks on Malian forces on areas surrounding the forest, mainly attempting to cut off communication along National Road 4.^[2] In February 2024, JNIM fighters attacked a Malian base at Kwala, near Mourdiah, killing around thirty Malian soldiers and briefly occupying the base.^[2][3]

JNIM attacked the camp in Mourdiah at dawn on 26 May, with two vehicles carrying suicide bombers targeting the entrance of the base and artillery fire backing them up.^[4] Malian and Wagner forces were able to repel the attackers, who fled.^[4] Malian troops set out in pursuit of the jihadists, flying airplanes and drones overhead and launching some drone strikes.^[4] Many of the jihadists were caught in Niamana, a village that was the scene of a massacre by Malian and Wagner forces who killed 13 civilians.^[5]

While JNIM did not publish a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, French journalist Wassim Nasr stated that JNIM had conducted the attack and acknowledged the loss.^[6] Malian officials stated five men were killed in the attack and several dozen were wounded, and stated that at least a hundred jihadists had been killed.^[4] A video taken in Niamana showed at least thirty-one corpses of jihadists, several of whom were entirely disemboweled, had their genitals cut off, or decapitated. This practice is more common in Wagner mercenaries than Malian forces.^[5][6]