A pivotal moment unfolded in the early hours of 9 October 2026, when fighters from the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) and the Islamic State in the Sahel (IS-S) clashed violently near Tessit, close to the Burkina Faso border. The confrontation was not merely another skirmish between rival factions; it signalled a turning point in the Sahel’s security landscape, one that the military regimes of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger united under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) can no longer afford to ignore. A breakthrough…
Read MoreSahel’s security test: why the Tessit clashes mark a decisive moment for the AES juntas
