French soldiers deployed in Operation Barkhane in Mali in December 2015. Mali’s civil war could spread instability to Nigeria. (Shutterstock/Fred Marie)

Why the United States Should Pay More Attention to the War in Mali

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The ongoing civil war in Mali—where a jihadist group is poised to seize power—is spilling over into Nigeria, with ominous humanitarian consequences.

In Africa, an Al Qaeda militia has surrounded a capital city, killed a defense minister, and blockaded 3 million people, and it is just getting started.

On April 27, fighters from Al Qaeda affiliate Jama’at Nusrat Al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) helped overrun Russian forces in the northern Malian town of Kidal, seizing weapon caches. On the same day, JNIM killed Mali’s pro-Kremlin defense minister. Days later, JNIM stormed a Malian maximum-security prison dubbed “Africa’s Alcatraz” just 60 miles from the capital of Bamako in an attempt to free high-value JNIM prisoners. Now, the jihadi militia has the capital Bamako—and its 3 million inhabitants—under a partial blockade.

Some 2,000 miles to the southeast, Nigeria’s defense minister is warning that violence from Mali could spill into his country. And he is right to be worried. But these developments also give the United States an opportunity to re-engage in West Africa productively—before a terrorist caliphate can fully take root.

For the past three years, Mali’s military junta has taken a gamble by kicking out........

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