Dozens of vehicles, including fuel tankers, minibuses and trucks, have been set on fire near Mali’s capital, Bamako, as jihadists step up a blockade of the city, the BBC has confirmed.
Videos filmed from passing vehicles and verified by the BBC show the charred remains of the vehicles on a road about 45km (28 miles) west of Bamako. There are no reports of casualties – those on board were said to have been asked to get out before the vehicles were burnt.
Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), a jihadist group affiliated to al-Qaeda, imposed a fuel blockade on Bamako last year, which it tightened after attacking the city last month.
The BBC has contacted Mali’s government for comment.
Mali is a landlocked country and depends heavily on fuel transported from neighbouring coastal countries like Senegal and Ivory Coast.
The militants have kidnapped drivers and burnt more than 100 fuel trucks on major highways in the country since last year, but some have made it to Bamako under military escort.
The blockade is leading to shortages and sharp increases in the price of many goods ahead of the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha, which falls next week.
In the latest attack, BBC Verify authenticated the videos through matching two distinctive buildings on the side of the road to satellite imagery and checking for AI manipulation.
Nasa’s satellite-based platform Firms – which detects heat sources on Earth’s surface – also detected a heat signature at the same location on Tuesday.
The fuel blockade is intended to suffocate Mali’s economy and weaken the legitimacy of the military leaders in power, experts say.
Mali is currently led by Gen Assimi Goïta, who first seized power in a coup in 2020, promising to restore security and push back the armed groups. He has invited Russian paramilitary group Africa Corp, which evolved out of the Wagner Group, to help fight the Islamist insurgents.
In January, he appointed 47-year-old Brig Gen Famouké Camara to head a special operation to counter the fuel blockade, but attacks on fuel convoys have continued.
Before the latest attack, the fuel crisis resulting from the blockade had appeared to be easing.
The Africa Corp has been helping to get supplies into Bamako.
The BBC has verified footage of Russian attack helicopters escorting convoys, including fuel tanks and heavy goods trucks along roads to the capital.
The Africa Corps has posted daily videos on social media for the past few weeks showing troops on patrol. Analysts say the publicity blitz is to combat criticism of their failure to stop the rebel advance.
The Kremlin has pledged that Russian forces will remain in Mali to fight “extremism, terrorism, and other negative manifestations”.
When the jihadists imposed a fuel blockade last year, it caused shortages and a sharp increase in prices in the capital.
Last month, they ordered a total blockade, leaving residents worried.
Eyewitnesses told the BBC at the time that at least three of the six main routes into the city would be closed for hours at a time, and while the fighters moved elsewhere, some vehicles would manage to slowly get through.
This partial blockade has led to high costs of basic commodities.
One man said that a kilogram of potatoes that used to be 350 CFA francs ($0.62; £0.46) now cost 500 francs ($0.90).
“Everything in the market has become expensive,” he said.
Ahead of Eid, large numbers of sheep can usually be seen for sale on the streets of the capital of the Muslim-majority country – but this is not the case this year.
Muslims are supposed to slaughter an animal to commemorate the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God’s command.
If they can afford it, every Muslim family in Mali tries to buy an animal to slaughter for Eid, but this year, the blockade means it has been difficult to transport animals to the city.
One sheep seller told BBC Afrique: “Lots of people are blocked on the road. People are afraid because they [Islamists] take the animals.”
As a result, prices have shot up. One man told the BBC he could not afford to buy a sheep this year. Instead, he and some friends are thinking of coming together to buy a bull to slaughter.
The blockade has also made it risky for people to travel to their home villages over the festive period, as they usually do.
“Travelling would put your life at risk, as well as that of your family,” said a resident, who identified himself as Moussa.
“I’ve decided to stay and celebrate in Bamako,” he added.
The junta had popular support when it seized power five years ago, promising to deal with the long-running security crisis, prompted by a separatist rebellion in the north, which was then hijacked by Islamist militants like JNIM.
The junta has however struggled to contain the deadly insurgency despite the support of Russian mercenaries, making much of the north and east of the country ungovernable.
Last month, ethnic Tuareg separatists and JNIM launched co-ordinated attacks on major towns and cities across the country, leading to the death of Defence Minister Sadio Camara after an apparent suicide truck bombing on residence near the capital.
Source: BBC
