The advance of the Islamic State group in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) in northeastern Mali threatens the city of Menaka. ISGS took the Malian locality of Tidermène on the night of Monday to Tuesday, isolating the town of Ménaka in a northeastern region that has almost entirely come under ISGS control.
People are moving en masse to cities or camps, including across the border with Niger. The violence has resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths. It is giving rise to battles with rivals of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM)