JNIM’s widening siege of Bamako and attacks on Mali’s power grid

The jihadist alliance JNIM, affiliated with al-Qaeda, has escalated its blockade of Bamako, Mali’s capital, over the weekend by torching at least ten passenger buses along the critical Ségou-Bamako corridor. This artery serves as the primary supply route into the city from eastern regions. Simultaneously, militants targeted and demolished electrical infrastructure linked to the Manantali hydroelectric dam in the Kayes region. While the Malian army continues its counter-operations across multiple fronts, it has yet to break the economic stranglehold tightening around the nation.

Manantali: a vital target in a war of attrition

The assault on Manantali’s power transmission lines is far from incidental. The dam, operated under a tri-national framework involving Mauritania and Senegal through the Senegal River Basin Development Organization (OMVS), forms the backbone of Mali’s urban electricity supply. By striking these lines, JNIM is no longer focusing solely on military and security forces; it is directly undermining the economy’s lifeblood, where outages immediately paralyze public services, businesses, and industries.

This campaign follows weeks of systematic targeting of fuel convoys entering from Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire. The jihadists aim to weaponize fuel shortages, betting on eroding public support for the transitional government led by General Assimi Goïta. Bamako, once relatively insulated from direct conflict, has now become the epicenter of a grinding battle of endurance.

Military response and fragile resupply efforts

In response to this multi-pronged offensive, the Malian military claims to have sustained ground and aerial operations across several regions. Military escorts have allowed hundreds of fuel tankers to reach Bamako in recent days, temporarily easing pressure on gas stations. Yet this reprieve remains precarious: each convoy demands substantial resources, and the long-term security of national highways appears increasingly unattainable.

The Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) are caught in a pincer movement. In the west and center, JNIM is intensifying ambushes and infrastructure sabotage. To the north, in the Kidal region, tensions remain locked in a tense stalemate, with fresh clashes likely as rebel factions from the Permanent Strategic Framework escalate their activities. Bamako now finds itself navigating two distinct battlefields with dwindling human and material reserves.

A regional crisis deepens

The blockade’s ripple effects extend far beyond Mali’s borders. Neighboring economies—particularly those of Senegal, Mauritania, and Côte d’Ivoire—are watching with growing concern as West African trade corridors deteriorate. The slowdown in goods movement is straining ports in Dakar and Abidjan, where a significant portion of inland-bound cargo flows toward the Sahel. The Sahel States Confederation, comprising Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, has yet to forge a unified response to the jihadist-led economic warfare.

The attack on Manantali also raises urgent questions about shared infrastructure within the OMVS. Further damage could directly disrupt electricity supplies to Senegal and Mauritania, turning a Malian crisis into a regional emergency. External partners, including donors and military suppliers, face a dilemma: balancing support for Bamako’s sovereignty claims with the need to protect cross-border critical infrastructures.

On the ground, the gap between the army’s operational claims and the harsh reality of a capital under siege underscores the unprecedented nature of this conflict phase. JNIM is no longer merely contesting territory; it is systematically strangling a state’s functionality.