Mali: Crowds scavenge for fuel in Bamako

In desperate need of fuel, people queue overnight in gas stations of Mali’s capital, Bamako, a new worrying trend for the country and its gold industry, reported the Associated Press on October 7th.

The scarcity of fuel is a direct impact of the blockades on fuel implemented in early September by Jama’at Nurat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), a militant group affiliated with al-Qaida.

Speaking with AP, a bank employee, Amadou Berthé, said he had to travel miles to over 20 gas stations on a motorcycle taxi to find fuel for his broken-down car. Apart from the very possible fuel crisis the country is edging towards, this blockade could also prove to be harmful for Mali’s capricious economy. While Mali is one of Africa’s top gold producers, nearly half of its population lives below the national poverty line.

Control Risks Group consulting firm’s analyst, Beverly Ochieng, in conversation with Associated Press, highlighted how JNIM’s blockade is a strategic move to isolate residents and commercial organisations from the military authorities and the ruling government.

Following their ban on fuel, the militant group has targeted and obstructed tankers coming into the city from Senegal and the Ivory Coast. The militant group has burned at least 100 tankers in Mali, according to a report published by the Malian Petroleum Importers Association. Fuel tank drivers, too, have been caught in the crossfire as the Ivorian company CIVOTECH confirmed the deaths of three of their employees on the 21st of September.

Owing to the targeted violence, Mali’s oil importers have begun looking for alternative ways to bring fuel into the country. A Malian fuel importer told AP how they transport it to the border of Mali from Dakar and then sell it to traders within the country who are willing to take that risk.

The tensions between the militant group and Mali’s military junta have intensified in the last few months.

Associated Press, Maghrebi.org