Niger sends 82 fuel tankers to Mali to ease ongoing fuel crisis
Mali fuel tankers enroute to load oil (via AFP)
Niger sent a convoy of 82 fuel tankers to Bamako on 22nd November, with the intention of easing Mali’s ongoing fuel crisis, RFI reported on 24th November.
Mali has been brought to a standstill by a fuel blockade imposed since September by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an Al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadist group fighting Mali’s military government. The massive fuel shortage caused by JNIM has disrupted daily life, schools, and forms part of an economic strangulation strategy aimed at weakening the Malian military government.
The convoy had reportedly travelled approximately 1,400 kilometres from Niamey to Bamako, and was escorted the entire journey by the unified defence and security forces of the Alliance of the Sahel States (AES).
The Malian Minister of Industry and Commerce, Moussa Alassane Diallo, personally welcomed the fuel tankers and their drivers to express their gratitude. “These tankers will certainly help improve the supply of petroleum products in our country,” he said, adding that it would, above all, reduce the suffering of the population.
Earlier this year, Mali and Niger signed a series of agreements that would help stabilise fuel supply to Mali’s North. 40 tankers that were sent to Northern Mali by Niger were exposed to threats and attacks, in Niger’s Tillabéri region in particular.
Mali is being supported in its fight by the AES allies, and the fuel tankers convoy represents the first act of solidarity with Mali. A Malian security source commented, “This gesture is extremely important and symbolic.” He added, “It shows the determination of the AES forces to confront terrorism.”
Niger’s ambassador to Bamako, Abdou Adamou, recalls Mali’s support to Niger when ECOWAS threatened military intervention following the coup by General Abdourahamane Tiani, saying, “We have not forgotten what Mali did for Niger when Niger was threatened with being attacked by ECOWAS.”
Boubacar Ba, director in Bamako of the Centre for Analysis on Governance and Security in the Sahel, noted that this act could foreshadow a potential joint military action in support of Mali by the AES.
Some residents of Bamako reacted with lesser enthusiasm, calling the move “theatrics” while the country has come to a halt. Others noted that 150 tankers are required for the needs of Bamako alone, if the fuel shortage demands are to be met.
RFI, Maghrebi.org
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