The senegal-mali trade threatens as fighters set trucks to light near Case

Mali’s military government has tried to calm the anger because of a blockade of Islamist fighters on large highways, where truck drivers are ambushed and arson attacks.

In a rare recognition of the seriousness of the situation affecting the country affecting the country, Prime Minister Abdulai Maiga said measures were being carried out to improve route security.

The blockade – a potentially serious escalation of Mali’s jihadist uprisings – is especially reflected in the supply of fuel that can cripple the country.

The Sahel region in West Africa is known as the epicenter of global terrorism, report more than 50% of all terrorism -related deathsS

Several analysts say the purpose of al -Qaeda -related fighters is to impose a blockade on the capital Bamaco.

The blockade seems to have begun with the abduction and subsequent exit of six drivers on Senegalese trucks along the Dakar-Bamaco corridor in early September.

This is not a new tactic From the Sahel branch of al-Qaeda-Jama’at Nusrat al-islam Wal-Muslimin (JNIM)-but the scale is increasingly ambitious.

They have imposed a blockade in two key places: the Case region – which serves as a gate for all the food supplies coming from Senegal along the road and a train, and the Nioro -Dahal – which sits on the main route connecting Maulia with Mauritania.

According to reports, Islamist fighters have erected checkpoints to limit the flow of goods and to blackmail “taxes” from traders.

It is alleged that tankers, trucks and buses, abducted foreign drivers, were burned and attacked convoys carrying imports of fuel from Senegal and Mauritania.

Whole villages are reported in economic stagnation and markets are closed, transport has stopped and public services are violated.

The JNIM suspects also ambushed combustion trucks from Kot D’Ivoire in Buguni, in the southern region of Sicasso of Mali. Several trucks were burned.

“Economic suffocation” is the goal of fighters, Mamadu Bodian at Cheikh Anta University in Senegal Antta Diop in front of the BBC.

He and others point out a strategic change from fighters who no longer rely solely on military confrontation to uphold territorial control.

Analysts fear that if they are successfully applied, the embargo announced by JNIM about Kayes and NIORO-DU-SAHEL Can you paralyze the Western MaliS

Initially, the Malian Army downplayed the blockade, with spokesman Col Souleymane Dembélé rejecting the siege reports as “Information War organized by foreign media.”

Shots, distributed on the social media of besieged vehicles on the Dakar-Bamaco corridor, were removed from the context, he insisted. “” The video of the bus, which is set on fire since April and has no connection with the so -called blockade. “

According to an army spokesman, “in West Mali, no systemic interruption of transport was observed,” and the real challenge for people in the Kayes area is “the season of rains, not the actions of terrorist groups.”

Col Dembélé also characterizes JNIM’s increased activity as “the last enemy’s bay trait and in retreat.” This is a refrain, often used by Malian officials, as Junta took power five years ago.

Last week, the army said it had conducted an air strike at the JNIM camp in Msafa, in Kayes, killing “several dozen fighters” and destroying a site that is said to be used for logistics and planning.

The reinforcements have been sent to Kayes and Nioro-Du-Sahel, she said, with the military announced “hunting and destruction operations” on major roads and a “large-scale offensive” on the Diema-Nioro corridor.

State media reported that the hostages were released during the operations, but did not say how much.

Such efforts by the army seem to have not reduced the fears of the locals, nor the breach of their lives. Residents report that the belligerent checkpoints remain in force, while transport companies have stopped operations and cabinets drivers continue to be confronted with intimidation.

Case is said to be approximately 80% of the country’s gold production and is also considered a “portal to Senegal” by Mali. This is a logistics center where international commercial routes approach.

Mali is a landowner, highly dependent on adjacent fuel, food and produced goods ports, so control over border is essential.

The blockade not only violates local life, but directly threatens Bamaco’s economic stability.

“The Case region has become a major strategic goal for JNIM, which considers it a vital space,” says Timbuktu -based Institute.

“Jihadists intend to violate the supplies of the country, destabilize or even stifle the Malian economy, isolate the capital Bamaco and increase economic pressure on Malian’s transition regime,” the statement said.

The blockade also signals the geographical expansion of JNIM rebels.

Traditionally, the group’s operations are concentrated in North and Central Mali – in Mopti, Segou and Timbuktu. However, JNIM has made a significant encroachment in the southern Mali in recent years, including the regions of Sisasso and Kulikoro.

Focusing on a case, the group not only expands its print, but also threatens to surround Bamaco.

Since 2012, Mali has been involved in a deep security crisis, fueled by violence by al -Qaeda groups and the Islamic State Organization (IS), as well as other armed militias.

Local and international media have warned that the recent JNIM isolation for parts of southern Mali can pave the way for such invasions in the neighboring coastal countries.

The crisis emphasizes the limits of reading Mali from the military force, supported by the mercenaries of Russian Africa, as is already known by the Wagner Group, whose role in operations is not officially recognized.

With violation of trade routes from Senegal and Mauritania, JNIM has shown that it can design influence in the West by raising fears of expansion in these countries.

The Union of Senegalese Trucks (URS) has accused fighters and described the latest kidnapping of truck drivers as a threat to regional trade.

Mali is Senegal’s main African trading partner, representing over $ 1.4 billion ($ 1 billion) in exports last year. The Bamako-Kayes route carries fuel, cement, food and produced goods critical for both economies.

There is a risk that has started as a tactical disturbance can become a long siege, eroding confidence in Mali state institutions and exposing its fragility.

The choice of JNIM to target buses and tankers is not insignificant – it aims to hit Mali’s social and economic mobility at the heart, “Bamada.net reported last week.

More than a local explosion, the siege of Kayes is a warning sign that the jihadist riots in Mali have entered a new phase with the consequences of economic sabotage, reaching far beyond Mali.