Mali Designates Faya Forest as Military Exclusion Zone to Target JNIM
The Malian government issued an interministerial decree on June 22, 2026, designating the Faya forest and 38 other natural parks as off-limits military zones. This measure authorizes the Malian armed forces to eliminate all targets within these specified areas to dismantle refuges used by the al-Qaeda-linked JNIM group. The decision follows a series of lethal jihadist attacks on transportation infrastructure and is part of a broader strategy to secure major thoroughfares.