Desperate search for fuel in Mali's capital as al-Qaida-linked group enforces blockade

Residents of Bamako face fuel shortages weeks into a blockade of fuel tankers by JNIM militants.

Long lines stretched in front of gas stations in Mali’s capital Bamako into Tuesday, as commuters desperately tried to find fuel.

Residents are starting to feel the impact of a blockade on fuel imports to the city declared in early September by a militant group affiliated with al-Qaida.

Bakary Coulibaly, who resells gas at a small kiosk on the side of the road, said he was having a hard time finding gas.

“It is only a few stations that have it,” he said.

Motorcycles and cars alike crowded around one gas station, with some people arguing and fighting for a place in line.

Douga Barry drives motorcycle taxis for a living. He said he was determined to help the country get through the crisis.

“We know we are at war, whatever the situation, and we are ready to take it on. Even if we have to stop our motorcycles to walk, we are ready for it,” he said.

Militants from Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) have relentlessly attacked fuel tankers coming from neighboring Senegal and Ivory Coast, plunging the capital of the landlocked West African country into crisis.

Despite being one of Africa’s top gold producers, Mali is ranked the sixth least developed nation in the world, with nearly half its population living below the national poverty line.

Attacks intensify

Analysts say the blockade poses huge risks for the fragile local economy and is a significant setback for Mali’s military junta, which took power in 2021 promising to improve security.

Instead, attacks from militants linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have intensified in recent months.

JNIM is one of several armed groups operating in the Sahel, a vast strip of semi-arid desert stretching from North Africa to West Africa, where an insurgency is spreading rapidly with large-scale attacks.

In a report released last month, the Malian Petroleum Importers Association said over 100 tanker trucks had been burned and destroyed by JNIM fighters.

In response to the embargo, the Malian army has started escorting some truck convoys on the roads between Bamako and the borders with Senegal and Ivory Coast.

In a statement on Monday, the army said it destroyed the hideouts of the JNIM fighters responsible for a recent attack on a tanker convoy in the Kolondiéba area, near the border with Ivory Coast