Could Talking to Mali's Jihadists Bring Peace?
Hold Your Fire!1 Loka 2021

Could Talking to Mali's Jihadists Bring Peace?

The war in the Sahel appears to have reached a stalemate. In Mali, fighting pits the Malian security forces, backed by regional militaries and French special forces and airpower, against an al-Qaeda-linked jihadist coalition, JNIM (the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims). Since Mali’s crisis in 2012-2013, efforts to defeat jihadist militants have only seen their influence expand. Violence has spread across the Sahel at terrible human cost. Two successive coups in Bamako, Mali’s capital, have fuelled political instability. French officials appear exasperated by the lack of progress. Yet militants themselves are also under pressure, with several leaders killed over recent years.


In this episode of Hold Your Fire! Richard Atwood and Naz Modirzadeh are joined by Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, Crisis Group’s Sahel expert, to ask whether it is time for a new approach. They take stock of the insurgency’s current state, its aims and JNIM’s relationship with al-Qaeda. They discuss the future of the French presence and the consequences of the recent coups. They also speak at length about prospects for talks between the government and JNIM leaders, what such talks might entail and the challenges such a path would pose.


For more information, explore Crisis Group’s analysis on our Sahel and Mali regional pages as well as our work on Jihad in Modern Conflict. Be sure to keep an eye out for Ibrahim’s upcoming report.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jaksot(223)

Football and Politics in the Gulf

Football and Politics in the Gulf

The 2022 FIFA World Cup kicked off this week in the Qatari capital Doha. The tournament comes at a time of fast-evolving politics in the region. Just a few years ago, a spat within the Gulf Cooperatio...

25 Marras 202255min

Finland's FM Pekka Haavisto on the Ukraine War, European Security and Peacemaking Elsewhere

Finland's FM Pekka Haavisto on the Ukraine War, European Security and Peacemaking Elsewhere

In this episode of Hold Your Fire! Richard Atwood is joined by Finland's Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto for a wide-ranging discussion from the war in Ukraine to peacemaking efforts in the Horn of Afr...

18 Marras 202249min

Ethiopia’s Tigray War: After the Cessation of Hostilities, What Next?

Ethiopia’s Tigray War: After the Cessation of Hostilities, What Next?

On 2 November, the Ethiopian federal government and Tigrayan forces reached an agreement to cease hostilities and end almost two years of bloody war in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region. The truce cam...

10 Marras 202257min

Lula and Latin America’s Leftward Lurch

Lula and Latin America’s Leftward Lurch

Last Sunday in Brazil, former leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won a tightly fought presidential run-off against incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro’s supporters took to the stree...

5 Marras 202254min

After the Crackdowns, is Chad’s Transition Unravelling?

After the Crackdowns, is Chad’s Transition Unravelling?

On 20 October, Chadian security forces killed more than 50 protesters on the streets of Chad’s capital N’Djamena and other cities and towns. Demonstrators had taken to the streets in anger at an exten...

28 Loka 202251min

Can a New UN Envoy Help Resolve Libya’s Political Crisis?

Can a New UN Envoy Help Resolve Libya’s Political Crisis?

Clashes between rival factions rocked Libyan capital Tripoli over the summer. The fighting pit forces loyal to UN-backed Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dabaiba against supporters of Fathi Bashagha, who las...

21 Loka 202248min

An Escalatory Spiral in Ukraine?

An Escalatory Spiral in Ukraine?

The war in Ukraine took another nasty turn this week. Last Saturday, a blast destroyed parts of the Kerch bridge, which links Russian-occupied Crimea with Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin blam...

14 Loka 202248min

Coup in Burkina, Russia in Mali and a New Chapter in the Sahel?

Coup in Burkina, Russia in Mali and a New Chapter in the Sahel?

On 30 September, a group of young army captains, led by Ibrahim Traoré, seized power in Burkina Faso. They ousted Interim President Paul-Henri Damiba, who himself had come to power in a coup last Janu...

7 Loka 202245min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

uutiscast
aikalisa
politiikan-puskaradio
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
tervo-halme
rss-asiastudio
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
otetaan-yhdet
rss-podme-livebox
the-ulkopolitist
rss-raha-talous-ja-politiikka
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
rss-ulkopoditiikkaa
rss-pinnalla
rss-50100-podcast
rss-kuka-mina-olen
rss-girls-finish-f1rst