Dan Na Ambassagou
Dogon self-defence movement of the Bandiagara plateau — central to the communal dimension of the war, implicated in the Ogossagou massacre.
Broad area of activity
Dogon country — Bandiagara, Bankass and Koro cercles of the Mopti region.
Notable history
Formed in 2016 from Dogon hunter societies as Katiba Macina’s insurgency inflamed farmer–herder conflict. UN investigation attributed the March 2019 Ogossagou massacre of Fulani civilians to fighters associated with the movement, which it denies. Officially ordered dissolved in 2019, it never disbanded; its relationship with the state has cycled between tacit cooperation and denunciation.
Strengths
Local rootedness and terrain knowledge.
Limitations
Communal targeting record feeds the insurgency it fights; no stable command relationship with the state.
Related organisations
- Katiba Macina Opposed · high confidence
Long-running fight with JNIM’s Macina networks across the plateau; ceasefires have been announced and broken.
- Malian Defence and Security Forces (FDS) Disputed relationship · as of 2026-06 · low confidence
What is disputed: whether the state directs, supports or merely tolerates the militia. The government ordered its dissolution in 2019 and denies a command relationship; the movement never disbanded, and UN and researcher reporting describes a relationship cycling between tacit cooperation and public denunciation. Vigil records the disagreement rather than resolving it — no source establishes either command or genuine separation.
Related locations
Assessed as of2026-06Last reviewed2026-08-30