Post #118

🇲🇱Mali: JNIM at Intahaka 🌍 A few days after the Malian army declared its intention to reassert state authority at the Intahaka gold mine, the site is being contested by the jihadist group Jama'at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al- Muslimin (JNIM). 🔴On October 16 the Malian government issued a warning prescribing artisanal miners to leave Intahaka by October 22. ‼️On the day of this announcement Malian separatist Azavad Liberation Front published a communiqué rejecting the decision. ⁉️ The Malian Armed Forces reportedly arrived at the site on October 23, and yesterday were attacked by the jihadist rebels. It remains unclear whether the mine has fallen entirely into the hands of anti-government forces or is still controlled by the Malian army and allied groups. Why drive away the artisanal miners? All this raises the question of why Bamako moved to enforce control over the mine at this particular moment. 🔸 Initially it seemed that the decision indicated the upcoming start of operations of SOREM Mali S.A. - a state-owned gold miner which acquired exploration license at Intahaka in August, 2024. But the assertiveness of antigovernment forces and the mine’s distant location make any large-scale operations highly unlikely. 🔸 Another possibility is that the authorities sought to cut off jihadist financing from the mine - implying the government may not intend to launch its own operations there at all for now. If Bamako maintains control, we’ll probably see the logic behind this decision become clearer at last. Devils Below