A week after jihadists stormed a military base in central Mali, the town of Farabougou and nearby villages are witnessing a mass civilian exodus. Hundreds have fled in fear as the Malian army abandoned its garrison roughly 300 kilometers north of the capital, Bamako.
The withdrawal has left Farabougou under the control of militants from the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), an Al-Qaeda-linked coalition widely blamed for escalating violence across Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. While the army has framed its pullback as a “strategic move” ahead of an eventual counteroffensive, it remains unclear when — or if — troops will return. Authorities have also withheld casualty figures from the initial attack, fueling uncertainty and frustration among locals.
JNIM’s growing influence reflects a deeper regional crisis. The group not only challenges Sahelian governments’ legitimacy but also seeks to enforce its hardline vision of Islamic law, undermining fragile state institutions.
Meanwhile, Mali’s ruling junta has distanced itself from France, its former colonial ally, and increasingly leans on Moscow for security support. Russian fighters — first from the Wagner paramilitary group and now from its rebranded Africa Corps — have been deployed to combat jihadist factions and other insurgent threats. However, critics argue this shift has yet to bring stability, and may even entrench Mali in new dependencies.
