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1. JNIM ambush kills at least 11 Russian Africa Corps fighters and Malian auxiliaries in Mopti

A jihadist ambush near Kaka, in Mali's Mopti region, killed at least 11 people on 7 September, including Russian Africa Corps personnel and Dan Na Ambassagou dozo hunters serving as army auxiliaries, RFI reports. Local sources — including a senior Dan Na Ambassagou official — put the toll at four Africa Corps soldiers and seven dozo hunters, though some sources give higher figures. JNIM claimed responsibility for the attack on a military patrol and released images of some victims without stating a total. Neither the Malian army nor the Africa Corps has commented.

The circumstances remain unclear. A Malian army drone strike the previous day at nearby Bourkouma killed a woman and her baby and wounded other civilians, according to local sources, some of whom view the Kaka ambush as retaliation for that strike. If confirmed, the toll would be among the heaviest single losses for Russian paramilitaries operating alongside Malian forces in central Mali.

Sources: RFI

2. Algeria sends combat jets to Niger as Niger-Chad tensions deepen over mutiny accusations

Algeria deployed four Su-30MKA fighter jets, an Il-78 tanker and an Il-76 transport to Niger's Air Base 101 on 30 August — its first combat aircraft deployment there since 1973 — after the failed coup attempt in Niamey. Algiers, which has long avoided military interventions abroad and requires a two-thirds parliamentary vote to send troops outside its territory, described the move as support for Niger's army against an attempt to "destabilise" the country.

Relations between Niger and Chad have also deteriorated. Captain Roger Gabriel, commander of Niger's 1st Parachute Battalion, alleged on state television that officers from Chad, Benin and Côte d'Ivoire, along with associates of former president Mohamed Bazoum, orchestrated the 28-29 August mutiny, and that UAE and Belgian nationals had urged him to join it — claims he did not substantiate. Chad's government has not formally responded, though President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno posted a Quranic verse widely read as a veiled denial. The two countries' militaries had already denied earlier reports of a border clash, calling them disinformation.

Sources: The Africa Report | The Africa Report | Journal du Mali

3. Mauritania arrests 17 in arms-trafficking case near Mali border

Mauritanian authorities arrested 17 people and seized two vehicles loaded with weapons on 4 September near Bassiknou, in the Hodh Ech Chargui region bordering Mali, RFI reports. Those detained include Sanda Ould Bouamama, a former spokesman for Ansar Dine — now part of JNIM — linked to Mali's 2012-2013 crisis under Iyad Ag Ghaly. Suspects were transferred to Néma for questioning; authorities have not commented further.

The scale and intended destination of the seized weapons remain undisclosed, but the arrests point to continued Mauritanian efforts to disrupt jihadist logistics networks along its Malian frontier.

Sources: RFI

4. Niger journalist Moussa Kaka missing a week, press freedom groups voice alarm

Niger journalist Moussa Kaka, director of Radio Télévision Saraounia and a former RFI correspondent, has not been seen since leaving his Niamey office around 7pm on 31 August, RFI reports. Reporters Without Borders said on 2 September it was "preoccupied" by his fate and urged Nigerien authorities to open an investigation. No authority has offered an explanation for his absence.

Kaka's disappearance is one of several unresolved cases tied to Niger's crackdown following the late-August mutiny, which has also swept up at least two former ministers among the civilians and soldiers detained.

Sources: RFI | France 24

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• Chad: graduates' protest march banned: Chad's ministry of public security banned a nationwide march by unemployed graduates' organizations planned for 9 September, citing non-compliance with a 2023 ordinance on demonstrations. The Collectif des diplômés sans emploi denounced the ban, cancelled a planned sit-in, and urged provincial branches to stay mobilized. Source
• Niger: post-mutiny arrests continue, scale of purge becomes clearer: Arrests of suspected mutineers and alleged accomplices continued over the weekend of 5-6 September, security sources told RFI, with no official figures released. A regional security source described those held as "dozens and dozens, if not hundreds" of soldiers, mostly from special forces units. An officer close to General Abdourahamane Tiani is leading the investigating commission. Source
• Mali: government claims major fuel delivery to Bamako: Malian authorities say more than 66 million litres of fuel and 980 tanker trucks had reached Bamako as of 8 September amid the ongoing JNIM fuel blockade, with a further 980 tankers arriving around 5am on 6 September. The figures have not been independently verified. Source
• Mali-Algeria: joint commission reopens after near-decade gap: Bamako is hosting the 13th session of the Mali-Algeria Grand Joint Commission from 9 September, nearly ten years after the previous session in 2016, following Mali's prime minister's visit to Algiers on 24 August. Source
• Mauritania/Senegal: 1,046 migrant shipwreck survivors land: MSF said 1,046 people survived Atlantic crossings from Gambia toward the Canary Islands and disembarked in a vulnerable condition during the last week of August at Nouadhibou, Rosso and Dakar, after seven boats ran into distress. Survivors included 134 women, one pregnant, and 88 minors. Source