Foreign Powers’ Plot to ‘Bring Mali to Its Knees’ Through Fuel Crisis Fails, Says Expert

“It was an intelligently prepared crisis designed to cause harm. The objective was to create a situation of popular uprising against the authorities, and I believe that, as we speak, this intended goal has not been achieved,” according to Malian journalist Amadou Diallo.

According to Diallo, Mali is a “pioneer in achieving full independence from former colonial powers, notably France.”

He highlighted the country’s strategic importance due to vast resources, citing the recent opening of a second lithium extraction plant.

The expert directly accused Paris as being “the real authors of this crime – because it must be called that – this crime against Mali,” adding that French and European media deliberately “created panic in Mali”.

The fuel shortage in Bamako and surrounding areas since September has been caused by a blockade from the JNIM, an Al-Qaida*-affiliated group. Earlier this month, Mali’s foreign minister had already described the situation as an “artificially created” shortage.