J
ihadists seizing Bamako and imposing Islamic law: The nightmare the Malian authorities once sought to avoid by calling on the French army for help in January 2013 now seems possible again. Since September, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM, affiliated with Al-Qaeda), which already controls a significant part of the country, has tried to choke the capital and enrich itself by targeting fuel tanker trucks from Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire – routes through which most of Mali's imported goods pass. The resulting fuel shortage threatens the supplies of Bamako's three million residents and the city's electricity.
Faced with this looming catastrophe, the junta led by Colonel Assimi Goïta, who has held power since August 2020 and proclaimed himself general in 2024, seems desperate. Powerless to prevent the blockade of the capital, he dismissed senior army officials for "insufficient results." The promises to restore security and Mali's sovereignty that once made him popular have given way to a drift toward dictatorship and an alliance with Russian Wagner mercenaries, now replaced by the Kremlin-created Africa Corps.
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Russian Wagner group fighters secretly detained and tortured civilians in Mali
