Ce qu'il faut savoir de la situation au Mali après deux mois de blocus jihadistes
Since September, jihadists from the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), affiliated with Al-Qaeda, have been pursuing a strategy of strangling Mali's economy by imposing blockades on several localities and on fuel convoys.
Here is what we know about the situation that is weakening the ruling junta in this landlocked Sahelian country that is largely dependent on imports.
- Roads under the control of JNIM -
JNIM is attacking fuel convoys on the main roads leading to Senegal and Ivory Coast, from where most of the goods imported by Mali come.
In a video published at the end of October, the jihadists announced that "all the routes around Bamako" are considered "war zones" and impose the separation of men and women in transport.
However, the situation seems to have improved slightly in recent days. Several fuel convoys under military escort have been transported to the capital and some other parts of the country.
The container ship owners, the Italian-Swiss MSC and the French CMA-CGM, who had announced they were suspending their operations in Mali, have reversed their decisions thanks to agreements with the government.
- Situation in Bamako -
In the capital, the situation has improved even though queues at petrol stations persist.
After several weeks of fuel shortages that have affected all sectors of the economy, the pressure seems to be easing thanks to the arrival of the convoys.
Schools and universities reopened on Monday after a two-week closure ordered by authorities due to the shortage.
However, public transport has not always been fully restored and access to electricity has deteriorated considerably since the blockade.
According to a security source consulted by AFP, "approximately 110 out of more than 700 gas stations are operating sporadically in the capital."
Today, "vast areas are beyond the effective control of the State," which "is concentrating its forces around Bamako to secure the regime," Bakary Sambe of the Timbuktu Institute research group, based in Dakar, Senegal, told AFP on Tuesday.
- In the rest of the country -
The situation remains more difficult in the rest of the country where several localities in the south and center are under jihadist blockade and where fuel convoys are slow to arrive.
According to Studio Tamani, a radio station funded by a Swiss foundation, "Mopti and Bandiagara (central region) have been without electricity for a month."
In the town of Dioïla, 160 km east of Bamako, "no station has fuel at the moment" according to L'Essor, the state daily newspaper.
Fuel tankers have just arrived in Ségou (central Senegal) and Sikasso (southeast) for the first time in several weeks. But the city of Mopti has not received any supplies since the beginning of September.
"There is a lot of solidarity," a resident of Ségou told AFP, adding that he hoped "the situation will improve with the arrival of several tankers."
He notes, however, that "the electricity supply has deteriorated since the blockade began. We have a maximum of 8 hours of electricity per day."
The north of the country is not affected by the blockades and the area is supplied by convoys coming from Niger.
- International reactions -
Faced with the deteriorating situation, the United States and the United Kingdom announced two weeks ago the withdrawal of their non-essential personnel from Mali, and several embassies, including France, have asked their nationals to leave the territory.
The Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, expressed his "deep concern" on Sunday over the deteriorating security situation in Mali and called for "urgent international action".
At Bamako's Modibo Keïta airport on Sunday, foreigners were "increasingly numerous" as they left the country, according to a station manager for an African airline.
However, there was no massive influx or panic, an AFP journalist observed.
"We are seeing a lot of departures of Chinese people who were numerous in small towns," an agent of an international company told AFP.
"The number of expatriates in Mali, especially Westerners, can be counted on one hand. There are no mass departures, since there aren't many left," the agent continued.
According to French Foreign Ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux, 4,300 French citizens are registered on the consular list. "Their safety is a priority," he insisted last week.
- Taking Bamako is not very credible -
The hypothesis of Bamako being taken by JNIM seems unlikely at this stage, according to observers, as the jihadists do not have the military or governance capabilities.
However, their objective is indeed "the fall of the junta" in order to install "a caliphate", said the head of French foreign intelligence services Nicolas Lerner on Monday, interviewed on France Inter radio.
Commentaires (20)
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Yeureum na Mali
Vendredi, à la tombée de la nuit, ils l’ont amenée sur la place centrale de Tonka, son village, et l’ont fusillée devant une petite foule éberluée, sans qu’aucune force de défense ou de sécurité présente dans la zone intervienne. Sa mort a rapidement provoqué un émoi national, ponctué de nombreux hommages de ses compatriotes sur les réseaux sociaux.
Mariam Cissé faisait figure de célébrité locale grâce à ses près de 100 000 abonnés sur Tiktok – un nombre qui, trois jours après son assassinat, était monté à plus de 140 000. Sur ses courtes vidéos, elle exposait, sur un ton humoristique ou critique, son quotidien dans sa petite localité du nord du Mali.
Maintenant on doit émigrer en Russie en Corée du Nord mais plus de voyage en France espagne usa italie Belgique suisse Vive la langue russe vive la monnaie russe
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