At least six Moroccan trucks carrying food supplies were set ablaze in Mali, witnesses told dpa, as armed groups intensify a blockade on Bamako. Armed fighters linked to the Macina Liberation Front, which is allied with the terrorist group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), set fire on Wednesday to Moroccan trucks carrying food supplies bound for Mali, witnesses told the German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA).
At least six Moroccan trucks were burned along the highway linking Gogui Zambal, near the Mauritanian border, to the capital Bamako, according to eyewitnesses. The attackers appeared to be aiming to tighten a blockade on Malian cities and disrupt the flow of essential goods entering the country via Mauritania, Senegal, and overland routes from Morocco.
Witnesses said the assault took place in the area of Jamjouma, where fighters first targeted fuel tanks before setting the vehicles on fire while firing weapons and shouting religious chants.
Videos circulated by a Mauritanian journalist based near the border and local activists showed trucks engulfed in flames.
Additional footage reportedly showed the burning of Senegalese trucks traveling from Dakar toward Bamako on the Kayes–Bamako corridor. Earlier, two Mauritanian trucks were also set ablaze, and a Mauritanian driver was lightly injured and treated after crossing back into Mauritanian territory.
Blockade Campaign Intensifies
The armed groups announced a blockade on Bamako following coordinated and deadly attacks on the capital and other Malian cities on April 25. The campaign aims to prevent food and essential supplies from reaching the capital.
- Source: DPA