Mali’s escalating fuel crisis cripples humanitarian efforts

An acute fuel scarcity, triggered by a jihadist blockade on key strategic roads, is intensifying the humanitarian crisis across Mali. This dire situation severely disrupts the daily lives of residents and paralyses United Nations operations in a nation already struggling with widespread hunger and pervasive insecurity.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that severe fuel supply challenges have significantly impeded relief efforts in various central and southern regions of Mali, particularly around Ségou, San, Koutiala, Mopti, and Bandiagara. These critical areas serve as vital links between the capital, Bamako, and the insecure northern parts of the country.

Numerous humanitarian partners have been forced to scale back their field missions, confining mobile clinics to approximately a ten-kilometer radius from their bases. Movement restrictions, banditry, and arbitrary checkpoints have led to the temporary suspension of certain operations.

Since September, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), an Al-Qaïda affiliate, has notably obstructed fuel imports originating from Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire. These routes are crucial for the majority of imported goods entering this landlocked West African nation. The blockade now impacts Bamako and most other regions, plunging populations into a profound energy and food crisis.

Léré isolated from the world

In the Tombouctou region, located in the northwest, the city of Léré, near the Mauritanian border, has faced access restrictions imposed by armed groups since October 27.

“This new measure has prompted population displacements towards safer areas,” states OCHA in its report on humanitarian access in Mali for October. The report further clarifies that “apart from humanitarian actors already present in the city […], no other humanitarian actor or organization has access to the locality.”

According to the report, around fifty access incidents were recorded nationwide, marking a 13% increase compared to September. Explosive devices remain the primary threat, with 28 reported cases. Three direct assaults against humanitarian workers were documented, and nine abductions occurred, predominantly in the central Ségou and northern Gao regions.

In Douentza, two humanitarian agents tragically lost their lives when a pinasse capsized on the Niger River, near the village of Kagnimé. “These acts of violence jeopardize staff safety and slow down field operations,” the OCHA report emphasizes, adding that “the context remains relatively unpredictable” and that “logistical constraints, particularly related to fuel and other physical factors, exacerbate the challenges of reaching populations in need.”

A climate of repression

This crisis unfolds within an increasingly repressive political environment. Since the junta seized power in 2020, General Assimi Goïta has solidified his control over the state apparatus, indefinitely suspending presidential elections and dissolving all political parties in May 2025. In July, legislation was passed enabling him to extend his mandate “as many times as necessary, until the country is pacified.”

The UN Human Rights Chief, Volker Türk, has since condemned “the closing of the door to any democratic election in Mali for the foreseeable future” and an “instrumentalization of the law against expressions of dissent.” Arrests of opposition figures and ordinary citizens have escalated, exemplified by former Prime Minister Moussa Mara, who was apprehended in August and subsequently sentenced to prison for “undermining state credibility.”

This political shift coincides with a resurgence of armed violence. Attacks by jihadist groups like the GSIM and the local affiliate of Daech continue to devastate the central and northern regions of the country, particularly along the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger. Since April, Volker Türk’s office has documented “hundreds of extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests and detentions, enforced disappearances, and other abductions committed by all parties to the conflict.”

Compounding this is a severe humanitarian crisis in a country where 6.4 million people require assistance, including 3.5 million children, according to OCHA. Mali is home to over 400,000 internally displaced persons and 335,000 refugees in neighboring countries. A UN report released on global food insecurity recently listed Mali among the planet’s six most severe food crises, alongside Haiti, Palestine, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen. The situation continues to deteriorate at an alarming rate in several already fragile areas, partly due to the disengagement of the international community.

The influx of Burkinabé refugees

In the Koro circle, near the border with Burkina Faso, a massive influx of refugees is further intensifying the pressure. Since April, nearly 50,000 Burkinabés have settled there, effectively doubling the existing refugee population.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), this surge severely strains local reception capacities. To address this, the agency established a field office in Koro, operational since October 16, aimed at bolstering coordination and accelerating humanitarian response efforts.

Today, Mali hosts over 150,000 Burkinabé and Nigerien refugees, all fleeing both jihadist attacks and military operations targeting armed groups.