Is Mali about to fall to an al-Qaeda-affiliated armed group? | Inside Story

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 12:18:53 +0000

Fighters affiliated with al-Qaeda have blocked fuel deliveries to Mali's capital for two months, bringing the city to a standstill.
They’ve sealed off the highways that tankers use to transport fuel from neighbouring Senegal and Ivory Coast.
It's put pressure on the landlocked Sahel country and its military government.
The scale of the blockade, and its impact, shows just how much influence the armed group wields.
So, are al-Qaeda-linked fighters trying to take power in Mali?
And what does that mean for the battle against armed groups in the Sahel region?

Presenter: Nick Clark

Guests:

Moussa Kondo -- Executive Director of the Sahel Institute

Oluwole Ojewale -- Regional Coordinator for West and Central Africa at the Institute for Security Studies

Nicolas Normand -- Former French Ambassador to Mali, Senegal and Congo Republic/Congo-Brazzaville

Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe
Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish
Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera
Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/
Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/
Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile

#Mali #MaliFuelCrisis #BamakoBlockade #JNIM #AlQaeda #AlQaedaBlockade #EconomicHardship #PowerCuts #FuelShortage #EnergyCrisis #AssimiGoita #AlJazeeraEnglish