The message from the U.S. Embassy in Bamako couldn’t be clearer: every American in Mali must leave today. Issued on Tuesday, this emergency evacuation directive is the second in 72 hours, escalating a prior “avoid all travel” notice over rampant crime, abductions, and bombings.
Roads are death traps. Terror strikes hit highways without warning. The embassy’s reach stops at the capital’s edge beyond Bamako, no help is coming.
“Use commercial airlines only,” the alert stresses. “Land travel is suicide.”
How Jihadists Are Suffocating a Nation
The spark? A fuel siege launched in September by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaida-linked militia battling Mali’s military rulers. They’ve burned over 100 fuel tankers rolling in from Senegal and Ivory Coast — Mali’s only supply arteries.
The result is national paralysis:
- Gas stations stand empty, lines stretching for miles
- Buses, taxis, and trucks sit idle
- Schools and universities locked shut for two weeks since late October
- Food prices explode as markets run dry
“They’re starving the capital into submission,” one observer said.
JNIM’s guerrilla playbook hit, vanish, control exploits Mali’s endless desert to choke the junta’s grip.
Why the Panic Button Was Hit Twice
This isn’t new violence it’s worse. JNIM’s roadside bombs and village raids have intensified. The October 25 warning already painted Mali red: “Do not come. If here, leave.”
Now, the fuel stranglehold has tipped the scale. The U.S. sees collapse on the horizon.
“Stock water, food, medicine. Plan your exit,” the embassy pleads.
Mali’s post-2020 coup regime leans on Russian mercenaries for muscle, but JNIM’s shadow war erodes control daily.
The Sahel’s Inferno: Mali Is Just the Start
Mali’s flames feed a regional wildfire. The Sahel that vast, sun-scorched corridor from Atlantic to Red Sea is a battleground for jihadist empires. JNIM shares the stage with Islamic State franchises, toppling weak states and scattering survivors.
The human cost is staggering:
- 4.8 million Malians face hunger
- Over 400,000 displaced and counting
- Aid trucks dodge bullets to deliver scraps
Burkina Faso and Niger, both under military rule, burn with the same fury. The ECOWAS alliance watches helplessly as the desert swallows stability.
No Time to Wait: What You Must Do
Americans in Mali:
- Book the next flight out no excuses.
- Embassy aid ends at Bamako city limits.
Malians:
- Brace for blackouts, bare shelves, and fear.
- The junta promises revenge, but JNIM holds the chokehold.
Global voices rise for truce talks and safe aid routes. But as tanks rust and children starve, one question hangs:
Will the world act or let the Sahel fall?
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