By Portia Crowe and David Lewis
DAKAR, May 1 (Reuters) – Al Qaeda-linked insurgents have called on Malians to rise up against the military-led government and transition to Sharia law, as multiple security sources said the group had set up checkpoints around the capital and seized a northern town.
The latest incidents come just days after Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) launched unprecedented assaults across the country on April 25 in coordination with the Tuareg-dominated rebel group the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA).
Bases throughout the landlocked African country and near the capital Bamako were hit in those attacks, which killed Mali’s defence minister. The town of Kidal was also seized.
The group, which threatened a total blockade of Bamako following the attacks, has established a number of checkpoints on several major arteries leading to the city, five sources told Reuters on Friday. The FLA also seized the northern town of Tessalit.
“We call upon all sincere patriots, without exception, to rise up and unite,” the group said in a rare French-language statement issued late on Thursday and confirmed by the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group.
JNIM usually issues statements in Arabic, although French is the official language in Mali for government and business.
The statement called for political parties, soldiers, religious authorities, traditional leaders and “all segments of Malian society” to end the “dictatorship” of the government, which it described as a “terrorist junta.”
“Overthrowing the junta is not enough. We must, together, prevent any chaotic vacuum that would plunge our nation into total collapse,” the statement said.
It called for a “peaceful, responsible, and inclusive transition” and for the establishment of Sharia law.
Mali’s military leaders seized power in back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021. Military leader Assimi Goita said in a televised address on Tuesday that the situation was under control, and vowed to “neutralise” the insurgent groups behind the attacks.
BAMAKO BLOCKADE
One security source said on Friday that militants had mounted some kind of checkpoints on three roads outside the capital – the RN24 to the northwest, the RN7 to the south and RN6 to the east. Another security analyst said there were checkpoints on RN5, to the southwest of the capital.
It was not immediately clear how strictly they were controlling the flow of people and goods in and out of the city.
One businessman said goods were being prevented from entering the capital.
Elsewhere, the northern town of Tessalit was seized by the FLA on Friday, six sources told Reuters.
A video verified by Reuters shows militants driving through Tessalit and raising the FLA flag.
A spokesperson for Mali’s military did not respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Portia Crowe and David Lewis; Additional reporting by Aaron McNicholas; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
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