Mali’s new turmoil tests Algerian bid to reclaim mediator role in the Sahel

Mali’s new turmoil tests Algerian bid to reclaim mediator role in the Sahel Submitted by Samira Elsaidi on Tue, 05/26/2026 - 09:27 Latest crisis in Mali offers Algiers a chance to regain diplomatic influence on a key security issue, but distrust prevails in Bamako Black smoke rises above buildings in the Malian capital Bamako after attacks by the Azawad Liberation Front and the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, 26 April 2026 (AFP) Off Recent fighting in Mali that has weakened the ruling junta has revived a familiar question in the Sahel : can Algeria , once the region’s leading mediator, regain a role that many in Bamako openly question? On 25 April, an alliance of Tuareg separatists linked to the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a group seeking independence for a region in northern Mali, and Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda-affiliated coalition, launched a surprise attack on Malian military and government sites. They seized key towns, such as Kidal, and army bases, blockaded the capital city, Bamako, and killed the country’s defence minister,  Sadio Camara , in the most serious challenge to the government since it came to power in 2020.  In neighbouring Algeria, the military and political upheavals in Mali have been met with a mixture of concern and expectations about the possibility of regaining diplomatic influence that had been declining over the years. Algeria has had a historic role in managing crises in Mali and the larger Sahel region. In particular, it brokered the 2015 peace agreement, which aimed to address the root causes of the conflict in the country’s north. However, relations with Bamako have deter...

Original source: Middle East Eye