“People living in cities in Mali under siege by al-Qaeda-linked militants have told the BBC they are facing shortages of food, fuel and medicine, and rapidly rising prices,” according to BBC Oct. 8, 2023. Timbuktu, a historic northern city in Mali, has been blocked by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) for nearly two months, preventing supplies from entering. The city has seen a doubled price of food from neighboring countries, affecting staples like sugar, flour, oil, and baby formula. Fuel scarcity has risen by 80%, and the UN estimates that 33,000 people have fled. Timbuktu was occupied by Tuareg rebels in 2012, but was later pushed side by al-Qaeda-linked Islamic groups who imposed strict Sharia laws. Gao, the largest city in northern Mali, is also being blockaded by JNIM, with a lack of fuel crippling the city’s electricity supply. The JNIM’s actions have caused many merchants to leave the city and left the streets deserted. “Dr Vines warned that failing to deal with the crisis in northern Mali ‘makes the junta in Bamako vulnerable’ and there might be another coup ‘if the military junta fail to respond to the security challenges they are now facing’.”