Mali marks independence amid a worsening security crisis

The 66th anniversary comes as armed groups expand their reach and the government struggles to secure key supply routes.

x whatsapp-stroke copylink google Add Al Jazeera on Google info Mali's leader Assimi Goita attends an Independence Day military parade in Bamako, Mali [File photo/AP] By Mubarak Aliyu Published On 22 Sep 2026 22 Sep 2026 Bamako, Mali – In Bamako, a fuel blockade has exposed the vulnerability of supply routes into the capital. In the north, separatist and armed groups have increasingly coordinated against the state, while the government faces questions over how much territory it can effectively control.

On September 10, less than two weeks before Mali’s independence anniversary, the Al Qaeda-affiliated armed group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen (JNIM) attacked an army camp in Dioura in central Mali.