Mali launches airstrikes in response to militant-imposed fuel blockade

In Mali, the military has launched airstrikes in the gold-rich Kayes region after al-Qaeda-linked militants moved to block fuel imports into the capital, Bamako.

The group, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM, announced a blockade last week, also restricting movement in the towns of Kayes and Nioro near the Senegalese and Mauritanian borders.

Since then, militants have stopped fuel trucks and escalated attacks on businesses…