Timbuktu, a historic city in Mali, is facing a blockade and bombardment by Islamist militants who have intensified their attacks since the United Nations withdrew its peacekeeping mission in July. The militants, who are affiliated with al Qaeda, have cut off road, river and air access to the city, which was once a center of Islamic learning and culture. They have also fired rockets at a hospital, killing two children, and a school where survivors of a boat attack that killed more than 100 people were sheltering.
The situation in Mali is deteriorating fast, as the country is also grappling with a resurgent Tuareg rebellion in the north and an Islamic State-linked insurgency in the east. The army, which is run by a junta that has spurned the support of former colonial power France and the U.N., is struggling to contain the violence. Some experts warn that Mali is heading towards a civil war that could destabilize the whole region of West Africa’s Sahel, which has already seen military coups in neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.
The junta, which seized power in two coups in 2020 and 2021, has severed ties with France and ordered its troops to leave. It has also asked the U.N. to withdraw its 13,000-strong force, which had been deployed since 2013 to help restore stability after a previous Tuareg uprising was hijacked by jihadists. The junta has instead hired 1,000 mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group, a private military company that has been accused of human rights violations and attacks against civilians in other African countries.
More than 650 people have died in conflict in Mali in the two months after the U.N. began pulling out, a more than 40% rise over the previous two months, according to a U.S.-based group that tracks violence. The residents of Timbuktu, who suffered under the harsh rule of the jihadists when they occupied the city in 2012, are now living in fear and despair. Food and other supplies are scarce, prices are soaring, and markets are deserted.
“We cannot describe the horror,” said Aicha Sababou, who was on a boat carrying soldiers and civilians that was attacked by the militants on Sept. 7. “Seeing dozens of people die and burying them together is scary. We are happy to rejoin our families even if there are still wounds, we need to heal.”The international community has condemned the violence and urged the junta to restore democracy and respect human rights. The African Union and the Economic Community of West African States have imposed sanctions on Mali and suspended its membership.
Some analysts say that dialogue and negotiation are the only way to end the crisis and prevent further bloodshed. They also call for more humanitarian aid and support for the local communities that are suffering the most. “There is still hope for peace in Mali, but it requires political will and courage from all sides,” said Ulf Laessing, the head of the Sahel programme at the Konrad Adenauer foundation. “The people of Mali deserve a better future.”
[Source]: Reuters
