SUMMARY

The non-state conflict between the Dogon militia Dan na Ambassagou and the jihadi alliance JNIM was fought in the context of the intrastate conflict in Mali, which pitted the state against a number of islamist groups from 2012 onward. As that intrastate conflict progressed, pre-existing tensions between the pastoralist Fulani – associated with FLM, one of the constituent parts of JNIM – and the agricultural Dogon and Bambara communities increased in central Mali, eventually stoking ethnic violence. In the security vacuum that was central Mali, this, in turn, caused the different ethnic groups in the conflict-hit area to create self-defense militias, and Dan na Ambassagou became the largest of these.

Both groups soon became embroiled in tit-for-tat violence against the civilian population associated with their adversaries, with JNIM carrying out brutal attacks on Dogon villages, and Dan na Ambassagou becoming equally infamous for massacring Fulani civilians. At times, JNIM attacks on Dogon villages was preceded by fighting with Dan na Ambassagou, with the latter attempting to provide security to large areas in central Mali. Other times, the two groups clashed unrelatedly to attacks on civilians.

By and large, the conflict was played out in central Mali’s Mopti region, with a vast majority of the fighting takin place in Bandiagara cercle. However, there were also violent encounters in Bankass, Koro and Douentza cercles.

The non-state conflict between Dan na Ambassagou and JNIM is first included in UCDP data in 2020. In March of that year, heavy fighting between the two groups in central Mali’s Bandiagara cercle caused the conflict to cross the 25 fatalities threshold for the first time.