While originally allies against the Malian government throughout the Mali War, since 2020 JNIM and ISGS have clashed in Mali due to ideological differences.[1] In March 2022, ISGS went on an offensive against the Malian government, Tuareg rebels, and JNIM.[2] In May 2022, the two groups agreed to a truce, although this truce expired sometime in September.[3] Clashes between ISGS and JNIM in particular escalated in November, with fighting in Gao and Timbuktu regions killing an unknown amount of fighters.[4] A Tuareg source speaking to Le Monde stated that JNIM usually sends soldiers out one wave at a time, with each wave containing around 700 soldiers.[2]
In the rural village of N'Tillit, fighting began on December 3 between the two groups, with 583 households being displaced.[5] On December 4, clashes flared up in the village of Tin Djiridjitane, with JNIM capturing the ISGS base of Fitili.[6] These clashes were just 15 kilometers away from a Malian army base in Tessit.[6] The commander of a local Tuareg militia, Fahad Ag al-Mahmoud, claimed the battle near Fitili inflicted heavy casualties on both sides, with JNIM ultimately winning.[7] al-Mahmoud alleged that following the battle, the remnants of the ISGS fighters dispersed, and JNIM committed massacres on December 5 in the towns of Idarfan and Alabadje, killing around 70 people.[8][9]
Clashes resumed between the two groups in the villages of Tadjalalt and Haroum on December 7, with the battles being the heaviest of the clashes.[10] In the battle, A Malian air force jet was alleged to have flown over the battlefield during the battle.[10] Fighting in the towns lasted until December 10, with JNIM claiming to have killed over seventy-three ISGS fighters in Haroum alone. Conversely, ISGS claimed to have killed a hundred JNIM soldiers.[2] Due to the heavy losses from the battles, both jihadist groups returned to their positions by the Malian-Burkinabe and Nigerien-Malian borders.[2] Low-intensity skirmishes continued until December 13.[11]
Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin
