Bamako – Jihadists have since late May blockaded the central Malian town of Boni and interrupted traffic on a major highway in the region, the UN and several local sources say.
“Since May 25, 2022, extremist armed groups have prevented the movement of people and goods in this area, in particular on the national road,” the UN’s MINUSMA mission said in a press statement, adding that work in surrounding fields had also been disrupted.
MINUSMA called the blockade a “siege” and said it had disrupted food supplies and forced healthcare workers and villagers to leave.
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Boni the capital of a commune of some 29 000 inhabitants, according to a 2009 census is located near the RN16 national road, which connects Mopti in central Mali to Gao in the north.
Dozens of buses, trucks and other vehicles normally use the road on a daily basis.
The highway is strategic for the largely rural region that has been caught in a whirlwind of violence since 2015.
It has become one of the most dangerous roads in Mali.
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Jihadist groups in central Mali a hotbed of violence in the Sahel frequently attack isolated military positions and other places where the Malian state is present.
They lay improvised explosive devices ahead of the army and MINUSMA convoys.
They also attack local civilians they suspect of collaborating with the military, punishing those who they believe do not adhere to their worldview.
The Malian army, which has several bases along the RN16, has intensified its anti-jihadist operations in recent months with the help of what it says are Russian military trainers.
France and other former allies claim the Malian army is working with the private Russian company Wagner.
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“The Katiba Serma jihadists are blocking everything around me,” a Malian from the Boni area now living in Bamako told AFP.
The Katiba Serma is affiliated with al-Qaeda.
Traffic on the RN16 remained blocked around Boni on Thursday.
“Buses and trucks are stuck in Douentza in the west and Gossi in the east,” said a passenger in Douentza, speaking on condition of anonymity for his safety.
A worker from a bus company confirmed that “to go to Gao, it’s blocked at Douentza our buses are no longer running.”
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Source: AFP
Picture: Twitter/ @fabsenbln
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