Militants Burn Dozens of Vehicles near Bamako as Jihadist Blockade Tightens

Dozens of vehicles, including fuel tankers, minibuses and trucks, were set on fire near Mali’s capital, Bamako, as jihadists intensify a blockade of the city, the BBC has confirmed.

Videos captured from passing vehicles and verified by the BBC show the charred remains on a road approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) west of Bamako. No casualties have been reported; occupants were reportedly ordered to disembark before the vehicles were burned.

Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadist group, imposed a fuel blockade on Bamako last year and tightened it following an attack on the city last month.

The BBC has contacted Mali’s government for comment.

Mali, a landlocked country, relies heavily on fuel transported from neighboring coastal nations such as Senegal and Ivory Coast.

Militants have kidnapped drivers and burned more than 100 fuel trucks on major highways across the country since last year, though some trucks have reached Bamako under military escort.

In the latest attack, BBC Verify authenticated the videos by matching two distinctive roadside buildings to satellite imagery and checking for AI manipulation.

NASA’s satellite-based platform FIRMS, which detects heat sources on Earth’s surface, also identified a heat signature at the same location on Tuesday.

The fuel blockade aims 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 2020 coup, promising to restore security and push back armed groups.

In January, Goïta appointed 47-year-old Brig. Gen. Famouké Camara to lead 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 junta enjoyed popular support when it seized power five years ago, pledging to address the long-running security crisis sparked by a separatist rebellion in the north that was later hijacked by Islamist militants like JNIM.

However, the junta has struggled to contain the deadly insurgency despite support from Russian mercenaries, leaving much of northern and eastern Mali ungovernable.

Last month, ethnic Tuareg separatists and JNIM launched coordinated attacks on major towns and cities across the country, leading to the death of Defense Minister Sadio Camara after an apparent suicide truck bombing near the capital.

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