Mali faces mounting pressure from al-Qaida-linked militants as the U.S.-designated terrorist group tightens its grip on supply routes leading to the capital, Bamako, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. this week urged its citizens to leave Mali immediately due to “persistent infrastructure challenges,” including disruptions in fuel supplies, closure of schools and universities nationwide, and ongoing armed conflict between the Malian government and terrorist elements near Bamako — all of which have heightened the city’s instability.
The travel advisory level for Mali is Level 4, or “Do Not Travel.”
Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), the group’s local affiliate, announced a blockade on fuel imports to the landlocked West African country in early September. The militants have since attacked convoys of fuel tankers attempting to enter the country or reach the capital.
Analysts have described the fuel blockade as part of a pressure campaign on Mali’s military-led government by militant groups seeking to cut off the country’s economic lifelines.
“The longer the blockade drags on, the closer Bamako comes to collapse,” Raphael Parens, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, told the Journal.
The airport in Bamako remains open, but the U.S. Embassy advised Americans to depart using commercial flights rather than traveling over land to neighboring countries due to the risk of terrorist attacks along national highways.
The nation has seen two military coups since 2020, both led by Gen. Assimi Goïta, as an insurgency by jihadist groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State worsened. The junta had promised a return to civilian rule by March 2024 but later postponed elections. No date has yet been set for a presidential vote.
Mali’s Council of Ministers in June adopted a controversial bill granting the head of the military junta an additional five years in power. Goïta has led the country since orchestrating two coups in 2020 and 2021. The move follows the military regime’s dissolution of political parties in May.
Al-Qaida became globally infamous after orchestrating the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, which killed nearly 3,000 people and led to the U.S.-led “War on Terror.”
Newsmax wires contributed to this report.
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