A convoy of Senegalese trucks came under armed attack in the Tasserit area inside Malian territory near the Senegalese border, according to Senegalese newspaper L’Observateur on Monday.
The report said around 30 armed men attacked the convoy while it was stopped in the area after taking control of the drivers, in the latest assault targeting commercial transport routes leading to the Malian capital Bamako.
Daouda Lo, head of the Senegalese Truck Drivers Union, said several trucks were burned while dozens of others remained stranded in the المنطقة.
He added that Senegalese drivers reported no casualties but appealed to authorities to secure their return home before the Eid al-Adha holiday.
Lo said Senegalese drivers do not transport fuel because armed groups prohibit foreign drivers from carrying such cargo, adding that the fuel trade is handled entirely by Malians.
The attack comes amid worsening insecurity in Mali, where Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, an al Qaeda-linked armed group, has intensified attacks on commercial convoys along routes leading to Bamako in what observers describe as an effort to pressure Mali’s economy and disrupt supply lines.
Since attacks that took place on April 25, the armed group has carried out several operations targeting foreign trucks arriving from Mauritania and Morocco, raising growing concerns over regional trade and transport security across the Sahel.
