Overview
- JNIM has targeted fuel convoys since September, especially routes from Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, burning tankers and abducting or killing drivers and escorts.
- Fuel shortages have triggered prolonged power cuts, two weeks of school closures, long queues at stations, and stalled farm work during harvest.
- Western embassies, including the United States and United Kingdom, urged citizens to leave and withdrew non‑essential staff citing deteriorating security near the capital.
- The Malian army said it hit a base near Sirakoro used to plan convoy attacks, claiming to have killed more than a dozen militants and destroyed or recovered equipment.
- U.S. Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau publicly praised Mali’s armed forces and indicated interest in greater cooperation, with analysts noting no clear sign of imminent U.S. military involvement.