More than 100 fuel tankers were destroyed in the first months of a blockade of Bamako declared roughly a year ago by JNIM, al-Qaeda’s affiliate in the region. The blockade eased earlier this year but has since returned with greater intensity, culminating in the death of Mali’s defense minister, Sadio Camara, amid a coordinated JNIM and Tuareg separatist offensive spanning several cities.
“This is where Russia enters the story,” writes Hassane Sissoko for African Arguments. Citing reports from Modern Diplomacy, Sissoko says the Russian-backed Africa Corps is now escorting fuel convoys bound for Bamako. Tankers travel only under armed Africa Corps protection—and at a staggering cost. “Tellingly, the same source reports how this role is paid for: not through Western-style budgetary aid, but through mining concessions and gold-refining deals.”
