After Insurgents Battle Military Junta, Mali Pushed Toward War and Economic Collapse
BAMAKO, Mali—Abba, a truck driver who lives on the outskirts of Bamako, recently spent 10 days stranded at a makeshift camp in Kita, a town about 100 miles west of the capital. Like many drivers bringing goods from Dakar, a coastal city in neighboring Senegal, he found himself stranded amid a breakdown in security in Mali that severely escalated last month.
Videos of burning transport vehicles that had attempted to cross the country were being widely circulated on social media, leaving Abaa and other drivers terrified of driving along the route to Bamako.
“No driver will risk heading towards Bamako,” he told Drop Site. “It is extremely risky, you either lose your vehicle or your life.”
Abba said he received little information from the authorities but appreciated the outpouring of support from residents of Kita who shared food and other necessities. Some movement recently resumed on the route from Kita to Bamako with support from the military, which allowed Abba to cross safely, but many other drivers remain stranded.
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