Mali crisis worsens: JNIM blockade, bounties, desertions

The Al-Qaeda affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) has demonstrated a growing capacity to take control of strategic territories in the Sahel region, particularly by tightening the stranglehold on fuel supplies. This development exacerbates the ongoing crisis in Mali, where JNIM has already maintained a partial blockade of Bamako on National Road 3. The group's expanding control over fuel further threatens the security and economic stability of the region.