MALI-UNREST

A man walks past a structure damaged in a drone attack allegedly carried out by the Malian army near the Algerian border in Talhandak on July 8, 2026. Jihadists and their separatist Tuareg allies hit Mali with fresh coordinated attacks on July 4, 2026, striking multiple towns and a prison just months after hobbling the country's military junta with a similar wave of assaults.The fighting comes after the Al-Qaeda-linked JNIM jihadists and Tuareg FLA separatists in late April captured the strategic northern town of Kidal and killed Mali's defence minister.Mali has been grappling with a security crisis since 2012 by jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group and community-based criminal groups and separatists. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)