Jihadists affiliated with the Islamic State group have reportedly taken control of Tidermene, a village in northeastern Mali, further isolating the regional capital Menaka. According to officials and witnesses who spoke to AFP journalists on Wednesday, Tidermene fell into the hands of the jihadists on Monday night after months of fighting by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS).

This comes as part of a major offensive by ISGS in the region of Menaka and Gao, further west, since early 2022.

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The capture of Tidermene means that all the main administrative subdivisions in the region are now under the control of the Islamic State group. Witnesses report that the jihadists have been distributing Korans to the population and moving around town with weapons.

Civilians in the region are reportedly being instructed to continue with their normal activities but to be prepared to pay the “zakat”, an Islamic tax.

The situation in the region has been volatile, with intense battles between ISGS fighters and the Al-Qaeda-linked Group to Support Islam and Muslims (JNIM), as well as clashes with former Tuareg independence fighters who signed a peace deal in 2015, and loyalists who once fought against the independence fighters.

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Experts believe that the increased activity of the jihadists in the region is due to the vacuum left by the departure of French forces last year.

The violence has taken a toll on civilians, with hundreds of people killed and communities displaced en masse. Some have fled across the border to Niger. Reports suggest that jihadists have carried out punitive attacks against communities they accuse of supporting the state or refusing to join their ranks.

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The Malian army, along with armed groups and Minusma military personnel, are present in Menaka and are working to protect civilians, according to an army officer.