BAMAKO, Oct. 9, 2025 (CHATNEWS TV/AP) — Mali’s military junta has authorized local negotiations with al-Qaida–linked militants in a bid to end a months-long fuel blockade that has crippled the country’s economy and sparked widespread shortages.
Local leaders in central Mali began talks earlier this month with Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), the al-Qaida–affiliated coalition operating across the Sahel, according to officials familiar with the process. The discussions are being conducted under the supervision of Malian intelligence services, sources said.
JNIM reportedly demanded that the government lift its ban on fuel sales in remote areas of western Mali — a restriction the junta imposed on July 1 as part of efforts to choke off militant supply lines.
The Islamist group’s blockade, now in its second month, has paralyzed trade and transport in large parts of the country. JNIM declared the blockade on Kayes and Nioro, two key commercial hubs in western Mali, in July and began enforcing it nationwide in September.
Since then, militants have destroyed nearly 200 fuel tankers traveling from neighboring Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, security sources said. The attacks have driven up fuel prices by more than 100 percent, shuttered gas stations across Mali, and left residents waiting hours in long queues for scarce supplies.
In response, the Malian prime minister convened a disaster management committee on October 3, pledging to stabilize fuel supplies. A convoy of 300 tankers reached the capital, Bamako, on October 7, easing shortages temporarily.
The blockade is also threatening Mali’s mining sector, which depends heavily on fuel-powered generators to operate. The government has delayed several fuel convoys to gold mines in the west pending military escorts, leading to temporary shutdowns.
“Local populations or the state could attempt to requisition the fuel reserves of mining companies in an emergency,” an industry source told Jeune Afrique.
Mining is vital to Mali’s economy, accounting for 82 percent of exports, 21 percent of tax revenue, and more than 6 percent of GDP in 2023, according to government data.
The talks with JNIM reflect a wider trend of junta-backed local negotiations with militants across the country. Similar deals in 2025 have led to de facto JNIM control in some areas, with communities agreeing to pay taxes, enforce shari’a law as interpreted by the group, and halt cooperation with state forces — in exchange for an end to sieges and attacks.
Analysts say the approach risks legitimizing militant rule even as it delivers short-term relief.
“Every agreement the junta strikes with JNIM buys temporary calm but deepens the group’s grip on local governance,” said one regional security analyst. “It’s a dangerous trade-off.”
The junta has not publicly confirmed the negotiations but has emphasized that its priority is to restore fuel access and protect key industries as the country faces one of its worst economic disruptions in years.
