Jihadist fighters linked to al-Qaeda are intensifying their siege of Bamako, Mali's capital, burning civilian vehicles, destroying electrical infrastructure, and disrupting the city's power supply. The group, known as JNIM (Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin), continued its blockade over the weekend, with around ten passenger buses torched along the Ségou-Bamako highway, particularly near the town of Zambougou. Witnesses reported being unable to count the number of burned-out wrecks on the road. In each case, passengers were ordered off before their vehicles were set alight; private cars were also destroyed.

The attacks extend beyond the roads. Several local and security sources confirm that jihadists sabotaged electrical infrastructure connected to the Manantali dam, a major hydroelectric facility located in Mali's western Kayes region. Built as part of the Organisation for the Development of the Senegal River (OMVS), the dam is the primary source of electricity for Mali and also supplies, to a lesser degree, Senegal and Mauritania. The state energy company, Énergie du Mali (EDM), acknowledged