Is Mali about to fall to an al-Qaeda-affiliated armed group?

Fighters affiliated with al-Qaeda have blocked fuel deliveries to Mali’s capital for two months, bringing the city of Bamako to a standstill.

They’ve sealed off the highways that tankers use to transport fuel from neighbouring Senegal and the Ivory Coast. This has put pressure on the landlocked Sahel country and its military government.

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The scale of the blockade, and its impact, show just how much influence the armed group wields. So, are al-Qaeda-linked fighters trying to take power in Mali? And what does that mean for the battle against armed groups in the Sahel region?

Presenter: Nick Clark

Guests:

Moussa Kondo – Executive director of the Sahel Institute

Oluwole Ojewale – Coordinator for West and Central Africa at the Institute for Security Studies

Nicolas Normand – France’s former ambassador to Mali, Senegal and the Republic of the Congo/Congo-Brazzaville