As jihadist violence in Mali escalates, Thomas and Aimen trace the history and present-day power of JNIM (‘Support Group for Islam and Muslims’), an Al Qaeda affiliate that has been laying siege to the capital Bamako. Will Mali’s secular state survive? Or is a jihadist takeover of the whole country now inevitable?
**Including BONUS MATERIAL for subscribers to the Conflicted Community!**
Thomas and Aimen discuss:
- The evolution of JNIM out of AQIM (‘Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’)
- The jihadist ‘privateers’ who built the organisation
- Slavery and racial hierarchy in the Sahel
- Will JNIM’s leader Iyad ag-Ghali become the King of Mali?
- Fuel blockades, economic warfare, and attacks on the capital, Bamako
- Whether Mali can still exist as a sovereign state
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews.
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