More than ten road transport companies have temporarily halted their operations to and from Bamako, as jihadist groups enforce a stringent road blockade around the capital, torching vehicles and goods along key routes.
The Mali government faces heightened instability following large-scale coordinated attacks on April 25-26 by militants from the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), an Al-Qaeda affiliate, alongside the predominantly Tuareg-led Azauad Liberation Front (FLA). These offensives targeted strategic positions held by the ruling junta.
Since April 30, jihadist factions have enforced a road blockade around Bamako, cutting off critical supply lines. As a landlocked nation, Mali heavily relies on road imports, making the blockade particularly disruptive. The capital’s economy and daily life are now under severe strain.
«We have decided to suspend our operations to protect our passengers and minimize losses,» a transport agency manager told AFP on Monday. The manager, who requested anonymity, revealed that six buses were destroyed in attacks on Saturday along the route to Ségou in central Mali.
Officially, over ten transport companies have announced service suspensions. However, some operators have quietly grounded their fleets without public announcements due to fears of government retaliation. While major transit routes into Bamako remain inactive, smaller minibuses continue to enter via alternative paths. The blockade affects all six primary road arteries leading to the capital.
Fuel, electricity, and water shortages grip Bamako
The impact of the blockade is evident across Bamako. Long queues formed at petrol stations on Monday, with diesel nearly unavailable for weeks, according to AFP observations. Authorities claimed that over 700 fuel tankers successfully entered Bamako via the route connecting the capital to Côte d’Ivoire on Saturday. In recent days, jihadists have burned multiple cargo convoys and passenger buses.
Power supply in the capital has deteriorated significantly. «We went 72 hours without electricity. It returned for three hours on the fourth day before cutting out again,» a Bamako resident told AFP on Sunday evening. The Énergie du Mali (EDM) utility company reported major disruptions «due to an incident,» without detailing the cause. An anonymous EDM official later attributed the issue to «terrorist sabotage» affecting the power grid.
Additionally, water supply disruptions have plagued several districts of Bamako due to power outages, as announced by the Malian Water Management Company on Sunday.
