Increasing attacks and the collaboration between armed groups are jeopardising the safety of thousands of civilians and soldiers in the Sahel desert, according to intelligence reports.
An attack last week claimed by the ISIL (ISIS) group in the town of Inates in western Niger caused the highest number of deaths in the recent history of the Niger army.
The violence has raised new humanitarian concerns in the region.
Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris reports from Mali's capital, Bamako.
