US Embassy urges Americans to leave Mali immediately amid Jihadi fuel bloackade

The US Embassy in Mali is urging all American citizens to leave the country immediately, warning of rising terror threats and a worsening fuel crisis caused by a jihadi blockade.

In a statement, the embassy said travelers should use commercial flights, as overland routes are too dangerous, with terrorist attacks reported along national highways.

It’s the second alert in just three days, following an earlier warning against travel to Mali because of crime, terrorism, and kidnappings.

The al-Qaida-linked group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM, announced in September that it had blocked fuel tankers from entering the country, part of its campaign against Mali’s ruling military authorities. Fighters have set more than 100 trucks on fire, crippling the nation’s fuel supply.

The impact has been severe, schools and universities have shut down nationwide, and transportation has nearly ground to a halt.

JNIM is one of several armed groups destabilizing the Sahel region, a vast stretch of desert from North Africa to West Africa, where an insurgency is spreading fast and the humanitarian toll is growing.