A blockade by al-Qaeda-linked fighters has disrupted Mali's main fuel supply routes, forcing fuel prices to go up by more than 500%. The shortage has shut down schools, stalled transport and caused disruption in the capital, Bamako.

Bamako

A blockade imposed by an Al-Qaeda-affiliated group has led to a severe fuel shortage in Bamako, Mali's capital. The blockade, which began after the military government banned fuel sales in rural areas, has escalated into an economic siege, cutting off vital trade and fuel supplies. Residents are facing long queues and soaring fuel prices, with some sellers raising prices by the hour. The crisis has disrupted daily life, forcing the closure of schools and universities and causing airlines to cancel flights. The Malian government claims the situation is under control, but the blockade has left the capital increasingly isolated and dependent on disrupted trade routes.

Al-Qaeda affiliated group blockade sparks fuel crisis in Mali

People in Mali's capital, Bamako, queue in long lines to get fuel. There's a shortage here, and patience is turning to anger. What began as retaliation after Mali's military banned fuel sales in rural areas has become a full-blown blockade. An al-Qaeda-affiliated group has imposed an economic siege on the capital, cutting off trade and fuel, choking Bamako's lifeline. All these people are here for fuel. There's a shortage of gas at the moment. Before we could buy gas everywhere in cans, but now there's no more. We're forced to come to gas stations, and even if we go there, it's not certain that there will be gasoline available. Only a few stations have it. We flock like birds from one petrol station to another, searching for fuel. We pray for a solution. The price has gone up from $25 to $130 for a liter of fuel, up 500 percent, every drop burning deeper into people's pockets. Many hoard what they can, sellers raising prices by the hour. Al-Qaeda appears to have turned anger towards the junta's failure to keep the country afloat. It's up to the government to play a full role and take action, to investigate whether petrol stations are running out of fuel, and in any case, to uncover the real reason for this shortage that will help us. The landlocked country depends on the ports of Abidjan and Dakar for food, fuel and goods, but Al-Qaeda-linked fighters are disrupting those trade routes. The junta insists everything is under control. Yet transport companies have been accused of paying Al-Qaeda fighters to move their trucks. None will admit it on camera. We tried to speak to them at a fuel pit stop on the outskirts of the Senegalese capital. People here don't want us to film, but this is an improvised pit stop for Malian truck drivers. They've been waiting here not days, but months, their tanks empty. Ahead for them is a dangerous road or journey into Al-Qaeda territory. Al-Qaeda fighters are burning fuel trucks as supplies run out in Mali's capital. Schools and universities are shut for two weeks. Airlines are canceling flights from Bamako. From a few fighters in 2012 to a force cutting off Mali's lifeline, Al-Qaeda's blockade is bringing the capital to a standstill and making the junta further isolated. Nicholas Haque, Al Jazeera.

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