The Washington Post, citing current and former U.S. officials, reports the Trump
administration is considering military action in Mali to target JNIM (Group for
Support of Islam and Muslims), an al-Qaeda-linked group. If approved, Mali would
be the eighth country in which Trump has ordered airstrikes in his second term.
Senior U.S. officials are divided on striking the group; National Security
Council counterterrorism director Sebastian Gorka is a prominent advocate for
using force. A White House official declined to say whether the president
intends to order strikes, and said the U.S. has been urging North and West
African governments to purchase U.S. equipment and services to support
counterterrorism operations.
