Mali’s foreign minister dismisses fears of jihadist takeover

Mali’s Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop has rejected claims that Islamist militants are close to seizing the capital, Bamako, calling such fears “far-fetched.”

Speaking at the BAMEX’25 Defense Expo on Wednesday, Diop said the government had largely contained the effects of a fuel blockade announced in September by al Qaeda-linked group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM). The blockade caused long queues at petrol…