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Insurgents imposed blockade on fuel imports last month

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Many fuel stations had closed or supplied only diesel

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Many reopen in Bamako after fuel arrives from Ivory Coast

BAMAKO, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Motorists former long queues

outside fuel stations in Mali's capital Bamako on Wednesday

following several days of closures and fears of a shortage after

al Qaeda-linked insurgents imposed a blockade on fuel imports

last month.

Many stations had since last week been forced to close or

were able to supply only diesel - a pressure tactic applied on

Mali's military-led government by militant groups who analysts

say want to cut off the landlocked country's economic oxygen.

"We are telling all traders who import diesel and gasoline

into Mali, whether from Ivory Coast, Guinea, Senegal, or

Mauritania, to stop doing so until further notice," a Jama'at

Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) militant spokesperson

declared in a video announcing the blockade in early September.

FUEL TANKERS ARRIVED FROM IVORY COAST

In recent days, Shell, Total and Star

stations in central Bamako were out of service, with

only a few local stations able to serve motorcyclists, residents

and Reuters witnesses said.

On Tuesday evening, Malian authorities announced that a

convoy of fuel tankers had arrived from neighbouring Ivory

Coast, and by Wednesday many of the stations in the city had

reopened.

Videos circulating on social media appeared to show long

queues in other Malian cities including Segou, Mopti and San.

"This morning I had to push my motorcycle due to the lack of

fuel... From (the neighbourhood of) Faladji to Kalaban, I found

nothing," said one motorcyclist in Bamako. "If the state can

find a solution to this problem, that would be good."

Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maiga has convened a disaster

management committee to secure the supply of convoys, state

television reported last week.

Mali has faced instability since 2012, when Islamist

militants hijacked a Tuareg rebellion in the north. The current

military government took power after coups in 2020 and 2021,

promising to improve security, which continues to deteriorate.

In mid-September, insurgents attacked a convoy of over 100

vehicles under military escort, destroying at least 40 fuel

tankers.

The armed forces have been blocking fuel tankers from

travelling to their destinations to prevent further attacks,

including about 70 trucks destined for Allied Gold ( AAUC ) 's

Sadiola mine in western Mali.