Dakar- men attacked three industrial sites and abducted civilians in western Mali over the weekend, local sources told AFP on Monday, as jihadists seek to disrupt the economy.
“After the economic blockade, the terrorists want to shut down the factories”, the source said, adding that the government had sent reinforcements to the area.
Ibrahima Diawara, CEO of a factory that produces calcium carbonate, lime and plaster near the town of Bafoulabe said his facility had suffered “considerable damage”.
“Two other factories in the same area were also attacked and burned”, he told AFP.
“Nearly 160 terrorists travelling by motorcycle took part in the attacks”, Wamaps, a west African journalists’ group specialising in security news in the Sahel, reported on X.
According to Wamaps, three people were kidnapped in the attacks while an elected official from the Kayes region gave a figure of four civilians.
The Kayes official added that “jihadists had already attacked the sites a few months ago”.
As of Monday afternoon, no group had claimed the weekend attacks or kidnappings.
In June, JNIM threatened to attack foreign industries and companies doing business with the Malian state without “its authorisation.”
Since then, numerous industrial sites have been attacked and several civilians, mostly foreigners, have been kidnapped, primarily in the west of the country.
These kidnappings have allowed the jihadists to finance their activities through ransoms.
JNIM has additionally waged a fuel blockade that began in September.
At the height of the crisis in October and November, Bamako suffered significant fuel shortages, crippling the capital’s economy and leading to power outages.
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Source:AFP
