Armed group linked to al-Qaida sets fuel trucks ablaze as it blockades imports to Mali

BAMAKO Mali AP A West African armed group affiliated to al-Qaida set fire to fuel tankers in Mali over the weekend videos manifested as the militants sought to tighten their grip on the country s market system by banning fuel imports from neighboring countries The trucks were coming from Ivory Coast and were attacked in Sikasso region in the south of the country according to a prevention source in Sikasso who authenticated the videos to The Associated Press Last week the spokesperson for the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin JNIM informed the blockade on Mali in a video posted online Mali s shipping ministry is meeting with representatives of transportation associations to discuss these threats and find solutions a ministry spokesperson revealed JNIM is one of several armed groups operating in the Sahel a vast strip of semi-arid desert stretching from North Africa to West Africa which has been a site for a rapidly growing insurgency that has made the region a hot spot for militant attacks The group which is considered the deadliest in the region controls key cities in Mali and Burkina Faso It has also carried out large-scale attacks in coastal countries along the Gulf of Guinea including attacks on soldiers in Benin and Togo Experts say the fuel blockade is a considerable expansion for the landlocked Sahelian country which depends entirely on imports mostly from neighboring Senegal and Ivory Coast for its fuel demands Remadji Hoinathy a measure analyst at the Institute for Defense Studies described the AP the blockade will cause a shortage which will exacerbate economic difficulties and deter fuel transporters in the region from delivering to Mali The tactic could spread across the region as the deadly armed group is now focusing on regional economic infrastructure to put more pressure on governments Honaithy warned This is to bring more pressure on the military the state and their Russian partner Honaithy disclosed It is a way of JNIM saying they are on the ground and have the capabilities of wreaking havoc The West African regional bloc ECOWAS fractured over a sharp rise in Islamist attacks across the region Mali Burkina Faso and Niger withdrew from the bloc following coups in the three countries They formed a separate multilateral protection alliance in ditching long-term Western partners such as France for Russia But figures shows attacks have only increased since then Source