Al-Qaeda’s Sahel affiliate JNIM and the Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) have fought some of their deadliest battles yet along Burkina Faso’s northern border with Mali since September, with both sides claiming hundreds of enemy dead. The casualty figures are unverified, but monitors agree the rivalry has grown sharper and is spreading into Niger and north-west Nigeria, even as JNIM keeps up pressure on government forces.
What happened on the Burkina–Mali border
- Early September 2026, near Kacham: ISSP claimed it killed more than 200 JNIM fighters, captured over 30 and seized weapons and motorcycles. The claim has not been independently verified. Héni Nsaibia of the conflict monitor ACLED said that, if confirmed, it would be the deadliest recorded battle between the two groups, Al Jazeera reported.
- 9 October 2026, around Ganadaouri, Oudalan province: the Islamic State’s weekly al-Naba claimed more than 400 JNIM fighters killed. JNIM has not publicly responded, and no independent count exists.
- 1 November 2026: ISSP published photographs it presented as the aftermath of that battle. The regional outlet i-Sahel counted at least 120 bodies in the images but could not verify who they were or where they died. That is well below the 400 claimed.
The Africa Defense Forum, citing ACLED, describes thousands of fighters meeting in two confrontations in north-eastern Burkina Faso in August and October, with each battle the deadliest between the groups to date. An independent UN panel of experts told the Security Council in August that the clashes were “the most intense direct confrontation globally” between al-Qaeda and Islamic State affiliates.
How big is the rivalry?
According to ACLED, the two groups have fought around 320 battles since mid-2019, killing more than 2,200 fighters. Until this year the fighting stayed in Burkina Faso and Mali. Since April 2026 it has spread into Niger’s Tillabéri and Dosso regions and Nigeria’s Kebbi State.
Nsaibia’s assessment, quoted by the Africa Defense Forum: JNIM has been the more successful group strategically, holding ground across large parts of Mali and Burkina Faso and pushing towards coastal West Africa, while ISSP has won several of the most important tactical battles. He told Al Jazeera the clashes are forcing JNIM to divert fighters and resources from its main campaign against government forces and allied militias.
Does the infighting help Ouagadougou?
Only to a limited extent. The International Crisis Group says JNIM holds large areas of Burkina Faso, particularly in the north, north-centre, west and east. ACLED documented more than 30 JNIM attacks during a February 2026 offensive that killed more than 120 soldiers, forest guards and members of the state-backed Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDP).
The group has kept attacking since. Recent claims include the capture of a VDP post at Bani in Séno province on 4 November, according to Sahel monitoring compiled by Darkwater Research. In Mali, JNIM’s az-Zallaqa outlet claimed attacks on a militia base at Baima in Mopti region on 31 October and a checkpoint at Bla in Ségou region on 6 November. Malian officials confirmed an attack in Bla. The Malian army has answered with air strikes under Operation Dougoukoloko against JNIM and the separatist FLA, from the Kidal area to Sikasso.
Analysts quoted by Al Jazeera warn that whichever group gains, civilians in the borderlands stay exposed. Viraj Pattni of the risk firm Castor Vali pointed to a JNIM training camp in Mali’s Sikasso region near the Ivorian border, and to the group’s expansion into Togo, Benin and, in October 2025, Nigeria’s Kwara State.
The Nigeria angle
ISSP has been moving fighters, equipment and expertise between its stronghold around Ménaka in Mali and Niger, and it cooperates with the Islamic State West Africa Province in the Lake Chad basin. Analyst Charlie Werb wrote on 4 November that ISSP is trying to win over bandit groups in north-west Nigeria ahead of the January 2027 presidential election. Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters has already ruled out a ceasefire with Boko Haram and ISWAP.
Key points
- Casualty claims from both groups, especially ISSP’s figure of 400 or more, are unverified. Photographs released by ISSP show far fewer bodies than claimed.
- The rivalry pulls JNIM resources away from its fight with state forces, but JNIM is still expanding and attacking army and VDP positions.
- The fighting has spread beyond Liptako-Gourma into Niger and Nigeria’s Kebbi State since April 2026.
For background on the forces involved, see our profiles of Mali’s military, its Russian and Turkish equipment and security on the Algeria–Niger border.
Sources
- Al Jazeera, “Burkina Faso’s rival armed groups turn on each other as state loses ground”, 13 November 2026 (ACLED’s Héni Nsaibia, Castor Vali’s Viraj Pattni, i-Sahel photo count)
- Africa Defense Forum, “Rival Terror Groups Devastate the Sahel”, republished by Eurasia Review, 12 November 2026 (UN panel of experts, ACLED figures, Charlie Werb)
- Darkwater Research, Sahel situation report, 11 November 2026
- African Perceptions, “Mali’s War of Attrition on Two Fronts”, November 2026
- Afreeque / Mali Actu, “Malian army strikes JNIM and FLA positions”, November 2026