For several weeks, jihadist attacks have increased against the Malian army. This intensification of violence coincides with the blockade imposed on Timbuktu. Residents testify to the situation they are experiencing.
Since Wednesday September 27, in Mali, three army posts have been attacked by jihadists: in the west, center and north of the country. An uninterrupted outbreak of violence in recent weeks. At the same time, the city of Timbuktu faces a blockade.
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For almost a month, the inhabitants of the “Pearl of the Desert” have had to draw on their food reserves, because almost no food enters the city. Mahamane, a native of Timbuktu and a figure in local civil society, says: “We are deprived of products that come from the rest of the country. Timbuktu is mainly supplied by Algeria and Mauritania. It is in a way a response to the Malian state“.
An agreement between armed groups
Mahamane explains this situation by an agreement between the multitude of groups fighting the Malian army: “There was complicity between the different movements to make this blockade effective.“, according to him.
These armed groups are predominantly Tuareg or Salafist, like the Support Group for Islam and Muslims, affiliated with Al-Qaeda. It was he who declared war in the Timbuktu region at the beginning of August. He is suspected of having targeted a passenger boat on the Niger River on September 7, an attack which left more than 100 dead. “This is the height of cruelty, it is a war crime!“, says Mahamane.
Last week, three shells targeted “the city of 333 Saints”, where the Malian army is well established, as noted by a journalist from Jamana radio in Timbuktu, who wishes to remain anonymous: “Since September 11, a curfew has been declared throughout the Timbuktu region. From 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., the army patrols to ensure the safety of the population, so the army is very present“.
This escalation of violence comes after the departure of the Barkhane force and the ongoing departure of Minusma, the UN mission, pushed out by the Malian junta. The latter also jeopardizes the Algiers agreement, signed in 2015 by the Malian state and armed groups in the North.
Mali: the blockade of Timbuktu told by its inhabitants – Report by Valérie Crova