Jihadists allied to Al-Qaeda have launched a blitz of raids on Malian industrial sites run by foreign firms, especially Chinese, as a tactic to undermine the ruling junta.

While present across wider west Africa, the powerful Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, known by its Arabic acronym JNIM, represents the greatest threat to the arid Sahel region today, the United Nations says.

In June, the JNIM warned that its well-armed fighters would target all foreign companies at work in Mali, run by the army since back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, as well as any business doing public works for the state without "its authorisation".

A recent UN report found the group's "core ambition remains the creation of an emirate that could challenge the legitimacy of military regimes, force them

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