Mali’s leader addresses deadly fuel crisis amid jihadi blockade

General Assimi Goita, the head of Mali's military junta, spoke for the first time on Monday about the country's fuel crisis.

The crisis stems from a jihadi group's blockade of fuel tankers entering the landlocked West African nation.

"During the escort of the fuel tanker convoy, people are dying; there are ambushes on the roads and tankers are catching fire with people inside them, who are burning to death," said Goita.

He was attending a meeting with Bougouni regional authorities during a trip in the south of the country to inaugurate the opening of a lithium mine.

Until now, Malian authorities have said little about the blockade imposed by Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), which is linked to al-Qaeda.

Militants from the JNIM group announced a ban on fuel imports from neighboring countries into Mali in early September, after authorities said early this year they were cutting down fuel supplies to remote areas as a measure to squeeze the jihadis in their hideouts.

The blockade has squeezed Mali's fragile economy and left hundreds of fuel trucks stranded at the border.

Mali's military has attempted to escort fuel trucks from border areas to Bamako while also targeting JNIM locations with airstrikes. Some trucks have made it to the capital, but militants have attacked others.

In his speech, Goita called on Malians to reduce the number of journeys they take to help alleviate the impact of the fuel shortage.

In Mali's capital, Bamako, endless queues have formed at gas stations, with some residents spending nights waiting.

The government announced school closures, embassies ordered citizens to evacuate, and citizens have been without power for hours.

The blockade has been a major setback for Mali's military junta in a country that relies on fuel imports from neighboring Senegal and the Ivory Coast.

JNIM is one of several armed groups operating in the Sahel, a vast strip of semi-arid desert stretching from North Africa to West Africa, where an insurgency is spreading rapidly with large-scale attacks.