People gather at a petrol station amid ongoing fuel shortages caused by a blockade imposed by al Qaeda-linked insurgents in early September, in Bamako, Mali, November 1, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
DAKAR/BAMAKO (Reuters) -A two-month-old fuel blockade by al Qaeda-linked militants has all but paralysed the capital of Mali, turning the screws on the military government and raising concern that the jihadists might try eventually to impose their rule on the West African country.
Security analysts say the group known as Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), which has been operating for months within 50 km (30 miles) of Bamako, currently has neither the intention nor the military capability to seize the city of 4 million people, which it briefly attacked last year.
