A 14-day blockade by Islamist militants has fostered food and aid shortages in Timbuktu, according to the mayor and city residents.
Timbuktu, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the legendary seat of Islamic education, located on the edge of the Sahara desert, has been embroiled in conflict ever since French forces liberated it from militants in 2013 after an insurrection.
The violence, driven by the local affiliates of al Qaeda and Islamic State, had escalated over the past year after the West African country’s military leaders shunned the French troops, and asked the United Nations’ peacekeepers to exit, and thereafter, teamed up with Russian private military contractor, the Wagner Group.
A domestic al Qaeda affiliate, known as JNIM, had obstructed access to Timbuktu roads since August 13, according to resident reports, cutting off food staples and halting humanitarian aid to the remote city of about 35,000 individuals, whose economy have vastly reduced by the years of conflict.
“Presently, we are witnessing a shortage of foodstuffs, with a general increase in their prices.” the Timbuktu mayor, Aboubacrine Cisse, had exclaimed.
Cisse had also revealed that he had set up a commission of 30 religious and ethnic leaders to plead with the militants to lift the embargo so that things can hopefully return to normal.
The United Nations Humanitarian Agency had said last week, that several aid workers had not been able to reach the city by river and that there was a high risk of health centers in the city running out of medicine.
The European Commission’s humanitarian sector had also commented that a handful of aid groups had postponed activities.
It is not yet clear as at the time of making this report, what caused the blockade.
