Beginning on April 25, 2026, right-wing U.S. and Ukrainian-backed Islamist forces launched a large-scale offensive against the Sahel nation of Mali. These right-wing forces included Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA). JNIM is the official branch of Al-Qaeda in Mali, and they formed an alliance with the FLA in the hopes of overturning the anti-colonial Malian government.
While these right-wing forces gained initial success, the Malian army, in conjunction with Russia’s Africa Corps, eventually slowed their progress and continued operations against FLA and JNIM. If Western media were to be believed, the April attacks were a valiant rebel offensive aimed at overthrowing a supposedly authoritarian military junta. However, the facts on the ground paint a different picture. As is so often the case, what the imperialist West calls freedom fighters are actually right-wing imperialist-backed forces aimed at overthrowing a government that expelled French and U.S. corporations and forces.
So, what are the goals of these so-called rebels?
First, it must be made clear that the militant groups currently waging war on Mali’s anti-colonial government are not a representation of the Malian masses but act on behalf of imperialism to undermine a popular government.
Second, forces like JNIM and FLA in Mali leading this fight against the Malian government do not operate in a vacuum. They are equipped and trained by the United States and their proxies. For example, Ukrainian military advisers have played a crucial role in training and equipping Al-Qaeda in Mali (JNIM) but have also supported right-wing Islamist terrorism across the Sahel states.
Third, the attack on Mali is an attack on any movement in the Global South that would defy imperialism. It is widely known that Russia is a crucial ally to the Sahel states. Since the beginning of its own war against NATO in Ukraine, Russia has supported Sahel’s independence from imperialism with economic investment and military aid. This recent right-wing Islamist offensive in Mali is simply a reflection of Washington’s desire to spread Russia thin and undermine a growing anti-imperialist bastion in West Africa.
As part of this offensive against the Malian people, the Western-backed forces have carried out “decapitation” strikes against prominent Malian officials like Defense Minister Gen. Sadio Camara. This sort of assassination is a common tactic of the United States military and its proxies. Examples of these decapitation strikes are not hard to find. One only has to look at Iran, Lebanon, and Venezuela. In Iran, the U.S. and its satellite Israel assassinated Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Feb. 28, 2026, and — six years earlier — assassinated Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad on Jan. 3, 2020. In Lebanon, the U.S. and its satellite Israel assassinated Hassan Nasrallah. In Venezuela, the U.S. kidnapped Nicolás Maduro.
The JNIM and FLA are being trained from the same playbook. Anti-people forces like those fighting the Malian government exist to sow chaos and lawlessness. To effectuate this plan, significant figures in the opposing camp are targeted in the hopes of undermining a movement.
What the imperialists and their proxies rarely account for is the willingness of the oppressed world to fight back. While a tragedy, the death of General Camara and the assault on major towns like Kidal will not undermine the will of the Malian people. That will is not to be subjugated by Western corporate powers, but is to forge a new path. And on this path, the Malian people control their own resources, reap the benefits of their labors, and live free from the oppressive yoke of Western capital.
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