Mali: les jihadistes commencent à imposer un blocus routier sur Bamako
JNIM jihadists began imposing a road blockade on Mali's capital Bamako on Thursday, following attacks they carried out over the weekend with a predominantly Tuareg separatist rebellion against strategic positions of the ruling junta, AFP learned from Malian transporters and a security source.
On Tuesday, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM, allied with Al-Qaeda) announced its intention to carry out a blockade on access to Bamako and threatened heavy reprisals - including death - for anyone who persisted in using the roads leading to the capital and the neighbouring town of Kati, a stronghold of the junta.
"The only measure of tolerance is granted to those who are already in Bamako to allow them to leave," a JNIM spokesman said.
Over the past 48 hours, traffic to Bamako has gradually slowed down, according to users.
Air traffic to neighboring countries remains unchanged.
On Thursday, hundreds of transport and goods vehicles were immobilized at various entry points to the city, according to transporters, particularly on the roads leading to Conakry, Abidjan, and Dakar, port cities vital to the economy of Mali, a landlocked Sahelian country.
"We have been stuck here since yesterday (Wednesday). There are at least a hundred vehicles parked here as far as the eye can see," testifies a truck driver, reached by telephone in Kourémalé, a border town on the Bamako-Conakry axis.
"We see flows leaving Bamako, but nothing is coming in. We are waiting for things to settle down, but the concern is rising," he told AFP.
The road leading to Dakar, a source of supply for Mali, is also affected by the road blockade, users told AFP.
On the road to Sikasso, another vital route linking Mali to Ivorian seaports including Abidjan, several sources report violent incidents.
"Several drivers who tried to force their way through the road the day before yesterday (Tuesday) were killed," a security source told AFP.
It was not immediately possible to confirm these deaths from an independent source.
According to Studio Tamani, a Bamako-based radio station, "no transport buses left" Wednesday morning the Yorosso district (south), heading towards the Malian capital.
On Thursday, JNIM claimed responsibility for an attack on security posts in Kasséla and Fana, respectively about 60 km and 127 km from Bamako.
At the end of 2025, JNIM attempted to suffocate the Malian economy by blocking the supply of petrol and diesel to stations, which were transported by truck from Ivory Coast and Senegal in particular.
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