Al Qaeda-Linked JNIM Burns Road Construction Equipment Along Bamako-Kayes Corridor, Halting Mali Road Project

The Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), on Tuesday attacked a road construction site along the Bamako-Kayes corridor, setting fire to heavy equipment and temporarily halting work on the strategic project.

A short clip which captured the aftermath of the incident showed several units of construction machinery on fire at a section of the road undergoing soil compression. The machinery was intended for the development of the key highway linking Mali’s capital, Bamako, with Kayes, a western region bordering Senegal and close to the Mauritanian border.

In addition to temporarily halting the strategic road project, the attack has also incurred losses to the Malian government, as the JCB Excavator torched costs between $25,000 for a used base model and $70,000 for a new one.

This attack is self-evident of the JNIM’s continued strategy of targeting state infrastructure to weaken government authority and disrupt economic activity.

Authorities have not confirmed casualties from the incident, and Mali’s government has released no immediate statement regarding the extent of the damage or the timeline for resuming the project.

Nonetheless, questions continue to abound as to why it is so crucial for JNIM, an extremist group formed in 2017 through the merger of several militant factions seeking a caliphate, to act as an economic disruptor, habitually sabotaging economically beneficial infrastructure in Mali and across Sahelian West Africa.

West Africa Weekly will monitor the story as it develops.

About The Author

Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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