Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) is a Salafi-jihadist terrorist group, most active in Mali and Burkina Faso, with presence in Niger and expanding into the northern Gulf of Guinea state. They were formed in 2017, with the merger of 4 Islamic extremist groups. JNIM’s aim is to establish an Islamic Caliphate while expelling the Western-influenced government.
JNIM’s threat to Mali and the Sahel region, has risen in recent years, as shown in the 2023 study by the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies. It concluded that JNIM was responsible for most of the 50% rise in fatalities attributed to Islamist groups in the Sahel compared to the previous year. A recent example of an attack conducted by JNIM, from 24 Aug 2024, resulted in the deaths of approximately 200 people and the injury of a further 140, in Burkinabe town of Barsalogho.
To fund these devastating activities, JNIM is known to utilize multiple streams of revenue. One such stream is fueled by offering protection services to groups performing illicit activities in Mali, such as the smuggling of Rosewood. A Global Network on Extremism and Terrorism (GNET) investigation has highlighted JNIM’s expansion in to criminal enterprises to fund its operations.
Rosewood has been particularly prized in the Chinese market for years, especially when sold as expensive replicas of Ming and Qing dynasty furniture. Between 2017-2022 China imported an estimated $220 million worth of rosewood from Mali alone. However, in 2020 Mali banned rosewood exports, largely due to ecological concerns, unintentionally creating an opportunity for Mali-Chinese smuggling rings to capitalize on the commodity.
Reportedly JNIM’s role in the lucrative activity has been to remove the banditry threat towards operations, often achieved by killing any bandit that did not conform. It is suggested that JNIM was more effective than hiring security agents. However, there are indications that JNIM’s interactions with these smuggling rings did not end at simply providing protection.
Recent attacks performed by JNIM show that they have somehow gained access to Chinese-made weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades with anti-tank projectiles. The likelihood of JNIM receiving this equipment through their illicit connections cannot be overlooked and because this mutually beneficial relationship allows for a significant increase of criminal activity to be performed, whilst equipping JNIM with the resources it needs to conduct significantly more deadly attacks. Furthermore, it would not be a surprise if similar connections to other illicit groups were discovered in future.
JNIM’s willingness to cooperate with non-Islamic Chinese entities is interesting and is in contrast to al-Qaeda’s wider stance on China over time. Al Qaeda has grown markedly more hostile to China over time with a wide range of al Qaeda figures, branches and aligned groups publicly voicing anti-China grievances in their propaganda. This has included AQAP’s Anwar al-Awlaki accusing the Chinese of occupancy of Muslim lands in a 2010 edition of Inspire magazine. In a 2018 issue of AQIS magazine Hitteen, AQIS Emir Ustad Usama Mahmood, called China the worst enemy of Islam after the U.S. and said China should be attacked in a similar way.
This has extended as far as al Qaeda affiliates and suspected aligned groups targeting Chinese nationals. Al-Shabaab has emerged as al Qaeda’s leading anti-China force targeting Chinese nationals in both Kenya and Somalia. Al-Shabaab’s Shahada news agency has criticized China’s Belt and Road initiative in Africa, Beijing’s alleged intent to create military bases in Somalia, and its donations of military equipment to the Somali Government.
Whilst the wider al Qaeda organization are antagonistic of China, JNIM has adopted a more pragmatic approach, which will likely draw criticism from the wider al Qaeda network and raises questions as to whether such activity has been sanctioned by al Qaeda’s senior leadership. The cross over to criminal activities to fund terrorist actions is a common theme worldwide but remains one which draws widespread criticism regarding whether such activity is haram (unlawful).