Fuel tankers set ablaze as militants enforce blockade of key Senegal-Mali trade route

BBC:

Mali’s military government has sought to calm anger over a blockade by Islamist militants on major highways where lorry drivers have been facing ambushes and arson attacks.

In a rare acknowledgement of the seriousness of the situation affecting the landlocked country, Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maïga has said measures are under way to improve security on the routes.

The blockade – a potentially serious escalation of Mali’s jihadist insurgency – is particularly affecting the supply of fuel, which could cripple the country.

The Sahel region of West Africa is known as the epicentre of global terrorism, accounting for more than 50% of all terrorism-related deaths.

Several analysts say the aim of the al-Qaeda-linked militants is to impose a blockade of the capital, Bamako.