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Mali's military government has attempted to ease growing frustration over a blockade by jihadist fighters on major highways where truck operators have faced ambushes and fire-related assaults.

In a unusual acknowledgement of the gravity of the situation, Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maïga stated that steps are underway to enhance security along these transport lines.

The blockade—considered a significant intensification of Mali's militant uprising—is particularly impacting the supply of fuel, which could cripple the nation.

The Sahel region of the region is regarded as the epicentre of international extremism, accounting for more than 50% of all terrorism-related deaths.

Several experts believe the aim of the al-Qaeda-linked fighters is to enforce a blockade of the capital, Bamako.

When Did It Start?

The blockade seems to have begun with the kidnapping and subsequent freeing of multiple Senegalese lorry drivers along the key transport route in early September.

This is not a recent strategy by the extremist group's Sahel branch—Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM)—but the scale is increasingly ambitious.

They have enforced a blockade on two critical areas: the Kayes region, which serves as the gateway for food supplies coming from Senegal by road and train, and Nioro-du-Sahel, which lies along the primary corridor linking Mali to Mauritania.

Reports indicate that militants have set up barriers to restrict the flow of goods and extort "taxes" from merchants.

They are reported to have set fire to fuel tankers, lorries, and buses, abducted foreign drivers, and attacked convoys carrying petroleum products from Senegal and Mauritania.

Whole villages have allegedly been pushed into an economic standstill, with businesses closed, movement stopped, and public services interrupted.

Alleged JNIM militants have also ambushed fuel lorries from Ivory Coast in the southern town, located in Mali's Sikasso area. Multiple vehicles were torched.

"Economic asphyxiation" is the militants' goal, according to Mamadou Bodian of Senegal's Cheikh Anta Diop University.

He and additional experts point to a strategic shift by the fighters, who no longer depend only on armed conflict to assert territorial control.

Analysts fear that, if effectively enforced, the blockade declared by JNIM on Kayes and Nioro-du-Sahel could cripple the nation's western zone.

Military Response

The Malian military initially minimized the situation, with representative Col Souleymane Dembélé rejecting reports of a blockade as an "disinformation campaign" orchestrated by international outlets.

Video circulating on social media of stranded vehicles on the trade route had been misrepresented, he stated. "The video of the bus being set on fire is from April and has nothing to do with the alleged blockade."

According to the military representative, "no widespread halt" of transport has been observed" in the region, and the actual issue facing people in the Kayes region is "weather conditions" and not the actions of terrorist groups.

Col Dembélé also characterized JNIM's growing presence as "the last gasps of an weakened opponent." It is a refrain frequently repeated by Malian authorities since the junta took control five years ago.

Last week, the military said it had conducted an airstrike on a JNIM base in Mousafa, in Kayes, eliminating "several dozen militants and eliminating a site reportedly utilized for logistics and planning.

Reinforcements were sent to Kayes and Nioro-du-Sahel, it said, with the military announcing "targeted missions" along key highways and a "large-scale offensive on the Diéma-Nioro corridor.

Official outlets reported that hostages were released during the operations, but did not specify how many.

Such efforts by the army do not appear to have lessened public concern nor the disturbance to their lives. Locals report that militant checkpoints remain in place, while shipping firms have suspended operations and truckers continue to face threats.

Why Is This Part of Mali So Important?

Kayes is said to represent approximately 80% of the country's mineral output, and is also considered Mali's "access point to the west".

It is a logistics hub where global commercial pathways meet.

Mali is a nation without coastal access heavily dependent on nearby harbors for petroleum, supplies, and manufactured goods, so management of Kayes is essential.

The closure not only affects local life, but directly endangers Bamako's economic stability.

"The Kayes region has become a key focal point for JNIM, which views it as a vital space," says the Dakar-based Timbuktu Institute.

"The jihadists intend to interrupt the country's supplies, to weaken, or even choke the Malian economic system, cut off the main city, and increase economic pressure on the Malian transitional regime," it says.

The shutdown also indicates the geographic expansion of JNIM's rebellion.

Historically, the group's operations have been focused in the north and center—in Mopti, Segou and Timbuktu. However, JNIM has in recent years made significant inroads into southern Mali, including additional areas.

By turning its attention to Kayes, the group is not only widening its footprint but risking to encircle Bamako.

What Else Is at Stake?

Since 2012, Mali has been in the throes of a profound safety emergency fuelled by violence from factions linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) organisation, as well as other armed militia.

News outlets warn that JNIM's ongoing blockade of parts of southern Mali could pave the way for similar incursions into adjacent nations.

The crisis highlights the constraints of Mali's reliance on armed intervention, supported by foreign contractors, whose involvement in activities is not publicly confirmed.

By disrupting trade routes from Senegal and Mauritania, JNIM has shown it can project influence westward, creating concern of an spread into those nations.

The Senegal Transport Association attributed the crisis to militants and described the kidnappings of commercial operators as a threat to cross-border commerce.

Mali is Senegal's primary African trade partner, representing more than $1.4bn in exports last year. The transport corridor carries petroleum, construction materials, foodstuffs, and manufactured goods critical to both economies.

There is a possibility that what began as a tactical disruption may become a extended blockade, eroding confidence in Malian state institutions and revealing its vulnerability.

JNIM's "decision to attack" buses and tankers is not insignificant—it aims to hit the core of Mali's social and economic mobility," local media reported last week.

More than a local flare-up, the siege of Kayes is a warning sign that the jihadist insurgency in Mali has entered a new phase with the repercussions of economic sabotage reaching well beyond Mali's frontiers.