Dozens of vehicles burnt as Mali jihadists enforce blockade ahead of Eid holiday

Jihadists burnt dozens of vehicles, including fuel tankers, minibuses and trucks, as they stepped up a blockade of the city near Mali's capital, Bamako. Videos verified by the BBC show the charred remains of the vehicles on a road about 45km (28 miles) west of Bamako. Those on board were said to have been asked to get out before the vehicles were burnt, and there are no reports of casualties.

Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), a jihadist group affiliated to al-Qaeda, imposed a fuel blockade on Bamako last year, which it tightened after attacking the city last month. The militants have kidnapped drivers and burnt more than 100 fuel trucks on major highways in the country since last year, but some have made it to Bamako under military escort. The blockade is leading to shortages and sharp increases in the price of many goods ahead of the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha, which falls next week.

Gen Assimi Goïta, who first seized power in a coup in 2020, has invited the Russian paramilitary group Africa Corp to help fight the Islamist insurgents. In January, he appointed 47-year-old Brig Gen Famouké Camara to head a special operation to counter the fuel blockade, but attacks on fuel convoys have continued. The Africa Corp has been helping to get supplies into Bamako, and the Kremlin has pledged that Russian forces will remain in Mali to fight "extremism, terrorism, and other negative manifestations".