JNIM Alleged to Have Killed Fifty Burkinabe Soldiers in Military Base Attack
Approximately fifty soldiers have reportedly been killed in an attack on a military base in Dargo in the Bousla province in northern Burkina Faso; JNIM is suspected of carrying out the attack, with local sources claiming that nearly a hundred militants participated, and gunmen burned and looted the base after the killings (AP)
Nigeria Faces Unforeseen Food Insecurity as Conflict and Extremism Rise
Nigeria is facing a hunger crisis, and nearly thirty-one million people need life-saving nutrition, the regional director of the World Food Programme said (AP)
Due to severe funding cuts starting in August, humanitarian aid in conflict-ridden areas will be suspended, leaving more than 1.3 million people without access to food and nutritional support; additionally, 150 nutrition clinics in Borno State in the northeast may close, 300,000 children could face severe malnutrition, and 700,000 displaced people will be affected (AP)
Gunmen Kill Two Indian Nationals and Kidnap Another in Niger
Gunmen killed at least two Indian nationals and abducted a third in Niger’s southwest Dosso region in the latest attack against foreigners in the nation; local media outlets identified the victims as workers at a Dosso construction site (AP)
Twenty Killed in Central Nigeria Village Shooting
At least twenty people were killed by unknown assailants wielding machetes and guns in Tahoss; graphic images and videos depicted corpses and burned homes in the aftermath of the attack (AP)
WFP Suspends Aid in West and Central Africa Due to U.S. Funding Freezes
The World Food Programme announced it is suspending aid across conflict-ridden West and Central African nations as a result of U.S. and other international assistance cuts; food stocks are estimated to last until September (AP)
Al-Qaeda Associated Group Attacks Malian Army
JNIM launched a coordinated attack on multiple Malian army positions across the country’s western and central regions, including an assault on a village near the Senegalese border (AP)
Military Intercepts Planned Village Attack in Niger State
Approximately fourteen soldiers were killed following a clash with over three hundred armed militants in Nigeria’s north-central Niger state; the gunmen, believed to be planning attacks on villages from a forest enclave in the Mariga Council area, were intercepted by military forces conducting “precision strikes” and ground engagement operations (AP)
Mali-Russia Energy Deal
Mali’s junta leader Colonel Assimi Goïta visited Russian President Vladimir Putin and signed numerous agreements to expand mutual trade and strengthen economic ties, including greater cooperation on nuclear energy; after Mali expelled French and United Nations forces, Russian private military groups stepped in to support Goïta’s government (Reuters)
The pledges came as Mali junta leader Colonel Assimi Goïta held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow (BBC)
Twenty-Two Arrested After Deadly Bus Attack in Nigeria
Police in central Nigeria have arrested twenty-two suspects linked to a mob attack that killed at least twelve people and injured eleven others after a wedding-bound bus lost its way in Plateau state; the victims were traveling from Zaria when they were ambushed in the Mangu area late Friday night, according to police and Amnesty International (AP)
Additionally, the International Criminal Court is investigating a confidential legal brief that claims the Russia-linked Wagner Group has committed war crimes, as seen by images and videos of atrocities, such as butchering corpses, posing with severed limbs, and alluding to cannibalism, on social media (AP)
Suicide Bomber Kills at Least Ten in Northeast Nigeria
A suicide bomber in Konduga killed at least ten people and wounded several others after detonating in a local restaurant; residents allege that the actor was female and was able to remain hidden due to the heavy rain (AP)
Raid in Nigeria’s Benue State Kills Roughly One Hundred People
During an overnight attack in central Nigeria, armed cattle herders allegedly killed roughly one hundred people (Reuters)
Violence in the region over ethnic and religious divisions has persisted for years, and in recent days, over two hundred people have died in a series of attacks and thousands have been forced to flee the area (BBC)
Ten Separatists Dead After Battle With Malian Army
After a two-day clash between the Malian military and the Azawad separatist group, ten separatists were killed, according to a military spokesperson; the Azawad separatists, however, claim they killed dozens of Malian security personnel as well as members of Russian armed forces (AP)
The group has long sought to establish an independent state of Azawad in northern Mali; they previously expelled police and military forces from the region before a 2015 peace agreement allowed former rebels to integrate into the Malian military—a deal that has since collapsed (AP)
Wagner Group Withdraws From Mali
On Friday, the Russian mercenary group announced that it would be withdrawing from Mali, as it has claimed to have achieved “the completion of its main mission” (BBC)
Wagner began its campaign in Mali in 2021 and comes after the mercenary group incurred losses from attacks by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) Jihadist militants (AP)
JNIM Kills Sixty Soldiers at Military Base in Mali
JNIM extremists killed dozens of soldiers at a Malian military base in Bouleskki, a town edging the border with Burkina Faso (Reuters)
At least sixty soldiers died and an additional forty were left injured; a military spokesperson revealed that 280 soldiers were stationed at the base, and those who were not murdered were detained as prisoners of war (AP)
Additionally, at least twenty people were killed by unidentified gunmen in coordinated attacks on villages in Nigeria ’s Benue state; according to a police spokesperson, twelve deaths occurred in Apa and ten in Gwer West, though the actual death toll may actually exceed thirty (AP)
Fifty-Seven Dead From Village Attacks in Baga, Nigeria
In what is being considered one of the deadliest incidents in the Sahel this year, an attack on two villages in northeastern Nigeria has left at least fifty-seven people dead and seventy missing; according to a survivor, the JAS faction of Boko Haram gathered more than a hundred residents from the neighboring villages of Mallam Karamti and Kwatandashi and marched them into the bush before killing them (AP)
Military Junta in Mali Outlaws All Political Parties
Military leader Assimi Goita announced the decision to ban party affiliations and party meetings during a televised speech, which came after opposition parties planned to stage further protests following a pro-democracy rally last week; government forces reportedly abducted two opposition leaders following last week’s protests (BBC)
Three Dead and Abducted in Mali Following Militia Attacks on Shopfront and Gold Mine
An armed group attacked an artisanal gold mine in southern Mali, targeting a store owned by Chinese nationals, kidnapping two Chinese citizens, and setting heavy machinery on fire, according to the deputy mayor of Narena; the assailants then killed three people, including a Ghanaian national, at a nearby gold-panning site in an attack resembling tactics commonly used by JNIM, though no group has claimed responsibility (AP)
Over One Hundred Killed in JNIM Attack in Burkina Faso
The militants from Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) attacked several locations across northern Burkina Faso, including a military base, resulting in high casualties reported among soldiers; an aid worker and local residents also died in the attack (AP)
Conflict in Northeastern Nigeria
Militant attacks in northeastern Borno state have prompted at least twenty thousand people to flee the town of Marte, the state governor said (Reuters)
Local officials have observed an increase in suspected attacks by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province militants in 2025; Nigeria’s military had been able to push back against Boko Haram in recent years (Reuters)
Thirty Dead in Separatist Attack in Southeastern Nigeria
In Nigeria’s southeastern Imo state, gunmen attacked travelers along the Okigwe-Owerri road, killing at least thirty people and setting more than twenty vehicles and trucks on fire; the attackers are suspected to be members of the outlawed separatist group, Indigenous People of Biafra (Al Jazeera)
Mali Junta Bans Political Activity Amid Growing Unrest
Mali’s military government suspended all political party activities “until further notice,” citing public order concerns; the decree followed a rare pro-democracy rally in Bamako protesting a proposed bill to dissolve political parties and extend junta leader Assimi Goita’s rule for a renewable five-year term (Al Jazeera)
Meanwhile, Boko Haram militants attacked a military base in Yobe state, Nigeria, resulting in the deaths of four soldiers and highlighting the resurgence of the group in the northeast (Daily Independent)
Prominent Malian Opposition Leader Set to Stand Trial Next Month for Criticizing Military Rulers
The announcement has intensified tensions, leading to increased protests against the junta’s efforts to consolidate power (RFI)
Bandits Kill Nineteen in Northeast Nigeria
In Bauchi state, Nigeria, heavily armed bandits ambushed a civilian joint task force convoy in Gwana district, killing nineteen people and looting livestock from fleeing residents (Reuters)
Mali Junta Backs Term Extension
A forum organized by the country’s military government recommended that its leader, Assimi Goïta, remain in power until 2030 and that all political parties be dissolved; Goïta became the country’s interim leader in 2021 following a coup (Bloomberg)
Additionally, the Malian army reported killing twenty-one suspected jihadists and seizing motorcycles, weapons, and communications equipment in a counterinsurgency sweep through the Timbuktu region’s Alafia forest (VON)
In Niger’s western Tillabéri region, unidentified gunmen attacked a convoy near the Kandadji hydroelectric dam, killing twelve Nigerien soldiers and abducting five Indian contractors working on the site (Reuters)
Separately, Burkina Faso’s military government mobilized supporters nationwide after claiming to have foiled a coup attempt, resulting in several thousand people rallying in support of junta leader Ibrahim Traoré in the capital, Ouagadougou (France24)
Burkina Faso to Nationalize Additional Industrial Mines
Prime Minister Kyélem de Tambèla said Burkina Faso will nationalize more industrial mining operations to ensure domestic control over gold and other strategic resources, citing the need for economic sovereignty (Reuters)
Meanwhile, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) claimed responsibility for a roadside IED attack in Borno state, Nigeria, where a civilian truck drove over a bomb, killing twenty-six passengers, mostly traders heading to a local market (Le Monde)
The event fuelled existing fears of a jihadist resurgence in the country, as coordinated strikes by Boko Haram and ISWAP killed over fifty civilians and destroyed multiple villages in three days throughout Yopo and Borno states (Reuters)