Gambiaj.com – (OUDALAN, BURKINA FASO) – Hundreds of jihadist fighters are believed to have been killed in heavy clashes between al-Qaeda-linked JNIM and Islamic State Sahel Province (EIS) fighters along the Mali-Burkina Faso border, with fighting also taking place near Niger.
The latest clashes were reported on Friday, October 9, around Gonadaouri in Burkina Faso’s Oudalan province, following weeks of fighting between the rival jihadist groups since August.
Islamic State Sahel Province claimed on Thursday, in its propaganda publication Al Naba, that it had killed more than 400 JNIM fighters during the latest fighting in Oudalan.
However, the claim could not be independently verified.
“The Islamic State’s casualty figures are always misleading,” a West African researcher who closely follows jihadist groups said, according to the report.
Several specialist sources said casualties had been heavy on both sides and that JNIM had also killed a number of Islamic State commanders. JNIM has not publicly commented on the clashes.
Deep-Rooted Rivalry
The two groups are ideological rivals despite both fighting governments across the Sahel in the name of Islam.
Their rivalry dates back to at least 2019 and has increasingly centred on competing interpretations of jihadist doctrine, recruitment networks and territorial control.
“The two groups share the same potential living space and the same recruitment pools; it is structurally a rivalry,” journalist and jihadism researcher Wassim Nasr said in June.
The latest fighting reportedly involved several hundred combatants, making it difficult to establish an independent and reliable death toll.
Ideology And Territory
Researchers say doctrinal differences have further intensified the rivalry.
JNIM has in recent years sought to present a more politically oriented approach, particularly in Mali, while also showing greater openness to local negotiations and engagement with communities and states.
The Islamic State, by contrast, has maintained a more uncompromising ideological position and has been associated with particularly violent tactics, including against civilians.
These differences have contributed to defections between the two groups, with some fighters switching allegiance.
Territorial competition is another major driver of the conflict. JNIM and Islamic State forces maintain areas of influence across Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, where they impose their authority and seek to expand their respective zones of control.
The deaths of fighters on both sides could temporarily reduce the threat posed by the groups to one another, but they also potentially leave fewer jihadist combatants for the national armies of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger to confront.
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