\n<\/p>\n
France has advised its citizens in Mali to leave as soon as possible, as Islamist insurgents continue their blockade of the country.<\/p>\n
The French foreign ministry advised citizens to depart on commercial flights while they are still available, and to avoid overland travel.<\/p>\n
A two-month-old fuel blockade on Mali, imposed by al-Qaeda-affiliated group has upended daily life in the capital, Bamako, and other regions of the landlocked West African country – a former French colony.<\/p>\n
France’s announcement came as MSC – the world’s biggest shipping company – said it was halting its operations in Mali, citing the blockade and deteriorating security.<\/p>\n
The jihadist group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has caused the obstruction by attacking tankers on major highways.<\/p>\n
Mali has no coast so all fuel supplies are brought in by road from neighbouring states such as Senegal and Ivory Coast.<\/p>\n
Last month, the US embassy in Bamako announced that non-essential diplomatic staff and their families would leave Mali amid the crisis.<\/p>\n
It said the fuel disruptions had affected the supply of electricity and had the “potential to disrupt the overall security situation in unpredictable ways”.<\/p>\n
Mali is currently ruled by a military junta led by Gen Assimi Go\u00efta, who first seized power in a coup in 2020.<\/p>\n
The junta had popular support when it took power, promising to deal with the long-running security crisis prompted by a separatist rebellion in the north by ethnic Tuaregs, which was then hijacked by Islamist militants.<\/p>\n
The UN peacekeeping mission and French forces had been deployed in 2013 to deal with the escalating insurgency.<\/p>\n
Both have left since the junta took over, and the military government has hired Russian mercenaries to tackle the insecurity.<\/p>\n
However, the jihadist insurgency has continued and large parts of the north and east of the country remain outside government control.<\/p>\n