Each time Senegalese mechanic Ibrahima Mbodj hears screeching tyres, a popping firecracker and even shattering glass, he fears one other jihadist assault on the Malian border submit close to his village.
Senegal has remained unscathed by a collection of jihadist assaults in Mali, however concern amongst residents is rising because the assaults inch nearer to the border.
Gunfire early on July 1 woke up Mr. Mbodj and others within the Senegalese city of Kidira because the Malian village of Diboli, situated instantly throughout the border, got here beneath assault.
The assault, which killed not less than one civilian, was claimed by the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Assist of Islam and Muslims, identified by its Arabic acronym JNIM.
Though jihadist assaults had been lengthy confined to northern and central Mali, they’ve expanded to the west in current months, together with areas alongside the almost 500-kilometre (310-mile) Mali-Senegal border, which is mostly porous.
In line with a 2025 research by the Timbuktu Institute assume tank, JNIM has been looking for to ascertain a foothold in Senegal from the shared border area of southwestern Mali, the place its members have elevated actions “exponentially”.
On the morning of the assault in Diboli, Mbodj was making ready for daybreak prayers at house when he heard the deafening gunfire.
“It was very loud and lasted for a number of minutes. It was solely afterwards that I realized it was a jihadist assault,” he advised AFP from inside his storage.
‘Terrifying’
Since then, nervousness has plagued Mr. Mbodj, who now personally picks up his three kids from faculty and has drastically diminished his journeys to Diboli, the place he used to go recurrently to purchase used bike elements.
Like him, many individuals interviewed by AFP mentioned the occasion left a mark on them, whereas others appeared dismissive of the menace or expressed confidence in Senegal’s navy capabilities.
A melting pot of ethnicities situated on one of many principal routes between Dakar and Bamako, Kidira faces quite a few safety challenges regarding drug trafficking and unlawful intercourse work.
Coumba lives just some metres from the border crossing. Over the zinc fence round her mud-brick home, she will be able to see the Malian flag flying above the border police station.
She felt as if the July assault befell in her personal yard. “It was terrifying,” she advised AFP.
She and her kids now lock themselves in at evening, solely venturing out once more after dawn.
Aboubacry Diop, director of Kidira’s neighborhood radio station, mentioned the assault triggered widespread worry.
“The streets had been virtually empty within the days that adopted,” he mentioned.
Bulwarks
Practically 9 months later, regular life has resumed however the assault stays on individuals’s minds.
Amadou Massiga, who runs a ironmongery shop in Kidira, doesn’t assume jihadists will ever assault the nation.
“By way of safety, the jihadists know we’ve the means to struggle them,” he mentioned, including that he “sleeps soundly”.
Mr. Mbodj disagrees, worrying that “these persons are in every single place and might strike wherever they need”.
Senegalese authorities have considerably bolstered safety within the space, together with an elevated presence of troopers and armoured automobiles that guard the bridge linking Mali and Senegal.
They’ve additionally strengthened border controls and carried out extra frequent and common patrols by members of an elite gendarmerie unit.
Senegal “has a navy power highly effective sufficient for jihadists to worry”, a west African safety supply who spoke on situation of anonymity advised AFP.
In line with the Timbuktu Institute, jap Senegal’s social cohesion and non secular moderation additionally type a robust bulwark towards JNIM.
The assume tank emphasised, nonetheless, that combatting jihadists would require elevated consciousness and implementation of improvement tasks within the space, which faces stark poverty and inequality whereas missing primary infrastructure.
In early February, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye organised a three-day financial tour of the area, visiting a number of development websites meant to “enhance” the native economic system.
He additionally expressed want for a stronger “state presence” within the space.
In the meantime Diop constantly broadcasts an unwavering message to the native inhabitants: cooperate with the safety forces, particularly for those who see something or anybody suspicious.
Printed – February 24, 2026 01:07 pm IST