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ISIS Attacks Intensify at Mali, Burkina Faso Border

The border areas where Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali meet are especially dangerous and violence is worsening across the region [File: Luc Gnago/Reuters]
The border areas where Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali meet are especially dangerous and violence is worsening across the region [File: Luc Gnago/Reuters]
    Asharq Al-Awsat
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ISIS Attacks Intensify at Mali, Burkina Faso Border

The border areas where Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali meet are especially dangerous and violence is worsening across the region [File: Luc Gnago/Reuters]
The border areas where Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali meet are especially dangerous and violence is worsening across the region [File: Luc Gnago/Reuters]

Assaya Ngweba said militants transformed his once-peaceful village in Burkina Faso, near the border with Mali, into "a place of misfortune and death."

Now the 78-year-old is among half a million people who have fled the area this year as the extremists linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS increase attacks and expand their range in West Africa.

Concerted military actions by five regional countries, along with a French operation, have failed to stem the violence, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

The border between Burkina Faso and Mali is the latest flashpoint in the vast, arid Sahel region that stretches across Africa south of the Sahara Desert. In the past week at least 19 civilians have been killed by suspected militants in Burkina Faso's north.

The extremists have even launched deadly assaults against the regional G5 Sahel counterterror force set up in 2017 with soldiers from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.

The worst occurred earlier this month when al-Qaeda-linked militants attacked two army bases in central Mali, killing at least 38 soldiers and leaving more than a dozen missing.

While Burkina Faso's security forces are accused of being heavy-handed, Mali's government might not be taking the increase in attacks seriously enough, said Judd Devermont, Africa program director with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Mali's government should better address the drivers of instability, he said, but instead of sending more development and education resources to affected areas it prefers to focus on the more heavily populated south.

According to AP, even in the capital, Bamako, protests have emerged as people accuse the government of not doing enough to stop extremist attacks.

Families of Malian soldiers protested this month as loved ones demand better equipment and training for the front lines.

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Kremlin Rejects Charge It Did Little to Help Iran

Russian President Vladimir Putin (C, back) attends a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (C, front) at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 23 June 2025. EPA/ALEXANDER KAZAKOV / SPUTNIK / KREMLIN POOL
Russian President Vladimir Putin (C, back) attends a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (C, front) at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 23 June 2025. EPA/ALEXANDER KAZAKOV / SPUTNIK / KREMLIN POOL
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Kremlin Rejects Charge It Did Little to Help Iran

Russian President Vladimir Putin (C, back) attends a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (C, front) at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 23 June 2025. EPA/ALEXANDER KAZAKOV / SPUTNIK / KREMLIN POOL
Russian President Vladimir Putin (C, back) attends a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (C, front) at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 23 June 2025. EPA/ALEXANDER KAZAKOV / SPUTNIK / KREMLIN POOL

The Kremlin on Tuesday pushed back against criticism that it had not done enough to back Iran, saying it had taken a "clear position" by condemning US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

President Vladimir Putin has condemned what he called "unjustified" US attacks on nuclear sites in Iran, with which he signed a strategic cooperation treaty in January. He said on Monday that Russia would try to help the Iranian people, although he gave no specifics.

Iranian sources told Reuters earlier this week that Tehran had not been impressed with Russia's support so far.

Asked about comparisons to the toppling last year of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, when Moscow refused to send troops or more air power to keep its ally in power, the Kremlin said some people were trying to spoil the Russian-Iranian partnership.

"Russia actually supported Iran with its clear position," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had appreciated Moscow's stance when he met Putin on Monday.

It was still too early to assess the extent of the damage to Iran's nuclear facilities, Peskov said.

"Some information is coming through the appropriate channels, but it is still too early," Peskov said. "Hardly anyone has a clear understanding right now."

Asked about a Reuters report that Araghchi had brought a letter to Putin from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Peskov said there had been no written document handed over.

"The fact that there were certain messages from the Iranian leadership is true. But this Reuters report is not true," Peskov said.

US President Donald Trump announced on Monday a complete ceasefire between Israel and Iran, potentially ending the 12-day war that saw millions flee Tehran and prompted fears of further escalation in the war-torn region.

"If it has really been possible to achieve a ceasefire, then this can only be welcomed," Peskov said, adding that Qatar had helped to broker the ceasefire.

"This is what the Russian Federation has been calling for since the very beginning of this conflict. Therefore, yes, this can and should be welcomed, and we hope that this will be a sustainable ceasefire."