Mali: Military government leader responds to fuel crisis
The leader of Mali’s military junta has made an official statement on the country’s fuel crisis that has stemmed from a blockade campaign enacted by Jihadist groups, Africanews reported on 5th November.
Mali has been in a state of building tension and pressure as an ongoing fuel crisis has found civilians desperately queuing for fuel overnight.
The situation in Mali’s capital, Bamako, has been a direct result of fuel blockades that the al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group, Jama’at Nurat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), have been implementing across the city. They aim to economically paralyse the government and sway public confidence so that they can assume power and enforce an Islamist republic in Mali.
While the government responded to the fuel blockades and shortages by initiating a two-week school shutdown, there had been no notable statement from the leader of Mali’s military junta, Assimi Goita, directly responding to the escalating tensions in Bamako. On 3rd November, however, Goita reportedly spoke on the shortages while attending a meeting with Bougouni regional authorities in the south of the country for the opening of a new Lithium mine.
“During the escort of the fuel tanker convoy, people are dying; there are ambushes on the roads and tankers are catching fire with people inside them, who are burning to death,” he said.
He went on to encourage Malians to reduce their individual journeys as a way of lessening the impact of the fuel shortage. Despite addressing what was happening in Bamako, Goita was not reported to have mentioned any particular strategy for tackling the fuel blockades, much to the concern of members of the general public who are struggling under the current circumstances.
Ultimately, Goita’s lack of a concrete response on how he intends to deal with the rapidly spreading threat of armed groups such as JNIM leaves concern into how Mali’s military government will answer the current fuel crisis. As public confidence wanes and desperation begins to set amidst increasing shortages, the need for a measured government response remains imminent.
Africanews, Maghrebi.org
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