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Fuel Blockade in Mali: Jihadist Attacks Cause Widespread Distress in Bamako
• Politics, Business, Crime, Mali, jihadists, fuel blockade, Bamako, petrol prices, militants, al-Qaeda, Mopti, business standstill, price hikes, military government, insurgency, JNIM, power cuts, trucks ambushed, fuel shortages, metaworld.media, Fuel Blockade in Mali: Jihadist Attacks Cause Widespread Distress in Bamako
Amid a crippling fuel blockade instigated by jihadist militants, residents of Mali's capital, Bamako, endure long queues at petrol stations as supply chains falter and prices soar.
Long queues have been snaking around petrol stations in Mali's capital a month after militants from an al-Qaeda affiliate imposed a fuel blockade by attacking tankers on major highways.
Our business is at a standstill, one motorbike taxi driver told the BBC, as many others pushed their vehicles to join the petrol lines amidst chaotic scenes in Bamako.
Some of the garages forced to shut last week, paralysing the city, have now reopened after more than 300 petrol tankers arrived under army escort from Ivory Coast on Tuesday.
The military government has assured residents that it is only a temporary issue, but there are fears the new stock will quickly run out - as others complain about price hikes.
Other cities and areas have also been suffering from such shortages, power cuts, and fuel inflation for several weeks. My business is dying, a vendor in the central town of Mopti told the AFP news agency about her problems keeping fish refrigerated.
Mali is landlocked, so all fuel supplies are brought into the country by road from neighbors such as Senegal and Ivory Coast.
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 by ethnic Tuaregs, which was then hijacked by Islamist militants.
The UN peacekeeping force and French counter-terror forces deployed in 2013 in the wake of the uprising have left, and the military government has hired Russian mercenaries instead.
But the jihadist insurgency has continued, and has made much of the north and east of the country ungovernable.
The latest blockade by al-Qaeda linked Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) - which has seen lorries ambushed, some set alight, and drivers kidnapped - points to the geographic expansion of its insurgency as its fighters are targeting highways linking Mali to its neighbors to the west and south.
Images widely shared on social media highlight the rowdy lines at petrol stations in Bamako, with people waiting for hours.
Those caught up in the queues spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity, expressing their frustrations and difficulties during the situation.
The situation is reportedly exacerbating power cuts in Bamako, with some areas now receiving only six hours of electricity a day.
In light of the fuel shortages and the resulting power cuts, there have been reports of discreet talks between Malian officials and the militants to lift the blockade, amid a backdrop of significant unrest and economic strain in the region.