Militants ambush fruit trucks on the road to Bamako as a blockade of Mali's capital persists

Militants ambushed a convoy of trucks heading to Mali's blockaded capital of Bamako Wednesday, a transportation workers union said, the latest in a crisis that began with sweeping, coordinated attacks by separatist and jihadi forces across the West African nation last month.

The attackers opened fire at the convoy of trucks from Morocco carrying fruit, according to Mounir Benazouz, a member of the road transport branch of the Democratic Confederation of Labor union.

The fate of the drivers was not immediately known, Benazouz said. “We have no details.”

The government has not confirmed the ambush and no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

A security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to talk to reporters, said the attack took place between Bamako and Bougouni, a town about 175 kilometers (109 miles) from the capital.

Last month, al-Qaida-linked militants from the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin group, or JNIM, joined forces with the separatist Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA, in a coordinated wave of attacks. The attacks were the heaviest the country has seen since 2012, with the militants and rebels seizing several cities and towns, as well as military posts from the Malian military and its ally, the Russia-backed Africa Corps.

The county’s former defense minister, Sadio Camara, was killed in the wave of attacks. Mali's military leader, Assimi Goita, has since taken on the duties of the defense minister.

JNIM also announced a blockade of Bamako, set up roadblocks and said it was banning everyone from entering the city. In September 2025, the group enforced a stifling road blockade on oil imports into landlocked Mali.

Since the announced blockade more than a week ago, people have struggled to reach Bamako, especially on two key roads — one connecting the country’s capital with Kayes, a city 583 kilometers (364 miles) to the northwest, and the city of Kita, 189 kilometers (118 miles) to the west.

A local official in Kita said there were “several hundred travelers” and more than 100 buses stranded there because of the “insecurity on the Bamako-Kita route over the past two weeks,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

"We need humanitarian aid, especially food and water for the travelers,” he said.

As the crisis escalated, the military junta which runs Mali has said that some officers have been complicit in the attacks, working with the militants and he separatists, and has carried out several arrests in Bamako.