Jihadi fighters affiliated with al Qaeda close in on Mali’s capital, as instability grows across Sahel region

People gather at a gas station amid fuel shortages in Bamako, Mali on October 7. Idriss Sangare/Reuters

A well-armed jihadist group affiliated with al Qaeda is closing in on Bamako, the capital of Mali. The country’s military junta and their Russian partners are struggling to counter the jihadis, who now hold sway in many parts of the huge Sahelian country.

What’s happening now

Fuel is running short in Bamako as militants belonging to a group called Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam al-Muslimin (JNIM) cut roads to the capital, attack military patrols and ambush tanker trucks.

As the situation deteriorates, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany among others have urged their nationals to leave Bamako. On Thursday, the UK warned its citizens to “leave immediately by commercial flight