Platform Takuba Task Force (until June 2022) Wagner Group (from June 2022) Moussa Ag Acharatoumane El Hadj Ag Gamou Tuareg rebellion (2012): 2012 coup Internal conflict in Azawad: Foreign intervention: 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 The Ménaka offensive was a series of offensives launched by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara against the Malian Army, Tuareg self-defense groups including the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA) and Imghad Tuareg Self-Defense Group and Allies (GATIA), and the al-Qaeda-aligned Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin.

The first clashes began in the mid-2010's with Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), a precursor to Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), and by the 2020s, the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara became the largest jihadist group in the area.

[3] ISGS is predominantly made up of Fulani, a nomadic Muslim herder group that has been in conflict with the Daoussahak Tuaregs for generations.

[9] At the time, the French army was in the process of dismantling Operation Barkhane, and the Malian government rejected their requests to intervene.

[10] In an interview, the journalist Wassim Nasr stated "The security of this area depends on the MSA, the CSP, and other Tuareg factions.

[10] Part of this strength came from an alliance with Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which including fighters from Nigeria.

[10][9] In late March 2022, the Amaq News Agency declared ISGS to be its own separate province of the Islamic State, as previously it was considered part of ISWAP.

In the past, Insinane had often been spared of jihadist attacks, and because of this, was a regional economic hub with many businesses and strong Tuareg militant security.

The mayor of Andéramboukane refuted this, claiming that a lone ISGS militant came to the residents and reassured them there won't be any attacks.

[25] The Islamic State claimed to have killed and wounded dozens in Malian soldiers in the Tessit attack, along with burning the camp down.

[29] In late March, the Malian Army began joint patrols with MINUSMA in the Ansongo and Menaka region.

[34] On April 22, Moussa Ag Acharatoumane denounced the Malian junta for their lack of reaction towards the Menaka offensives.

By May, the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara controlled several localities - Andéramboukane, Infoukaretane, Tadjalalt, Insinane, and Tamalat.

Having been warned about the attack beforehand, the Islamic State retreated from the city and allowed GATIA and the MSA to capture it without a fight.

[37] The next day, the Islamic State launched an attack against the city, capturing the town after heavy fighting with the Tuareg militias.

[48] Increased cattle raids, including some in the weeks prior near the city of Menaka, helped finance their operations through August and September 2022.

[51] Following the defeat at Talataye and massacres of Tuaregs, the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara had full control over Ansongo Cercle and much of the tri-point area between Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.

[52] The group also began "governance functions", including distributing medicine to locals and destroying alleged supplies of drugs.

[52] In response, Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin began expanding its influence across Menaka cercle, in an attempt to defeat the Islamic State via a "hearts and minds" campaign.

[53] In late October, JNIM launched a counteroffensive against the Islamic State, with fighting breaking out in Anderamboukane, Insinane, and Tamalat.

[55] JNIM responded by posting images of seventy killed Islamic State fighters, while admitting they lost 30 men.

[58] Despite this, an extremely large number of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara fighters pledged allegiance to the new caliph, Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi, in December 2022.

[59] In response, an anonymous MSA official stated no Tuareg leaders had defected to JNIM, and that there was no alliance between the two groups asides from when there is a common enemy, such as the battle of Talataye.

[59] The lack of attention on the region, and silence from the Malian government, was also a reason young, unemployed Menaka civilians were pressured to join JNIM.

[59] Ghaly also convened a meeting in Djouenhane between the CMA, GATIA, and Malian transitional council members regarding the creation of a non-aggression pact between the groups and JNIM.

[61] In March 2023, following an attack at Intagamey by ISGS, the Nigerien army joined the fight against the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.

[63] Locals in the area claim that ISGS fighters distribute qurans out to the population, and insist that civilians go about daily life.

[63] A Malian military official, in early March 2022, stated that the fighting in Tamalat and Insinane left "many" dead.

[3] An anonymous official in Menaka region corroborated this, stating over a hundred civilians and combatants were killed in the three days of fighting.

In late March, the Coordination of Azawad Movements stated 500 civilians had been killed by ISGS since the beginning of the Menaka offensives.