At least 40 fuel tankers burned in al Qaeda-linked attack in Mali, sources say

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(Reuters) -At least 40 fuel tankers were destroyed in Mali on Sunday when al Qaeda-linked insurgents who had declared a blockade on fuel imports to the country attacked a convoy of more than 100 vehicles under military escort, two sources said on Monday.

After the insurgent group, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), announced the blockade last week, a source close to Mali’s chamber of commerce said the country would run out of fuel within two weeks if supplies were completely cut off.

A truckers’ union official told Reuters around 40 fuel tankers were destroyed in the incident on Sunday, while a source close to JNIM said they had destroyed 80.

In a video message, the group’s spokesperson took credit for the attack in the Kayes region in the west of the country, and said the Malian soldiers escorting the convoy had fled the scene.

Mali’s army said in a statement it “suffered a terrorist attack” during a mission to secure people and goods on the road from Kayes to Bamako, but had reacted “vigorously”.

A spokesperson for the army did not respond to a request for further comment on the number of fuel tankers destroyed.

The country’s military government, which took power after coups in 2020 and 2021, is facing growing pressure from militant groups who analysts say are trying to encircle cities and towns in the Sahel region.

(Reporting by Mali newsroom; Additional reporting by Portia Crowe; Editing by Jan Harvey)