Islamist militants are partially blocking routes into Bamako, stranding travelers and raising pressure on Mali’s military government after major attacks.
Islamist militants have tightened a partial blockade around Bamako, blocking key roads into Mali’s capital and stranding travelers days after the country’s defence minister was killed in a wave of attacks.
The pressure on Bamako, a West African hub of more than three million people, marks a sharp escalation in Mali’s security crisis. Fighters from Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, known as JNIM, warned on Wednesday that “no-one will be allowed in any more,” according to the BBC.
Eyewitnesses told the broadcaster that at least three of the six main routes into the capital are being closed for hours at a time before fighters shift position, allowing some vehicles to pass when the roads briefly reopen. A mother of two, stuck after visiting relatives outside the city, told the BBC: “Our army isn't capable of protecting us, how are we going to get back home?”
The latest restrictions follow a fuel blockade last year that caused shortages and steep price increases. This time, residents and travelers face broader disruption, with vehicles caught on the Bamako-Kéniéba highway and hundreds more stuck near Ségou, less than 50 miles from the capital.
In Ségou, buses, trucks and cars have been left stranded under what the BBC described as a total blockade. Families, traders and other passengers have been there for days and are struggling to find food and water, a reporter in the town said.
The blockade comes after coordinated attacks last weekend by jihadists and northern separatist rebels from the Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA, which is seeking to overthrow the military government of Gen. Assimi Goïta. Defence Minister Sadio Camara was killed in an apparent suicide truck bombing at his residence near Bamako and was buried Thursday under tight security, AFP reported.
Mali’s army has been fighting insurgents with support from Russia’s Africa Corps, a paramilitary force that emerged from the Wagner Group. The Russian fighters withdrew from the northern city of Kidal as rebels advanced, and the FLA now says it plans to move on other northern cities while demanding that Africa Corps leave Mali.
A Kremlin spokesperson said Thursday that Russian forces would remain in Mali to fight extremism and terrorism and continue supporting the government. State media reported that Goïta, after an emergency security council meeting, promised tough action against the insurgents and said Malian forces had inflicted heavy losses.
Several countries, including France, Canada and the United Kingdom, have urged their citizens to leave Mali, while the United States has advised people to stay at home. For those caught on the roads outside Bamako, the immediate concern is more basic: whether the routes into the capital will reopen long enough for them to reach safety.
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