Rabat – Rachida Sabihi, the Mali-based representative of the Union of West African, Mauritanian, and Moroccan Road Drivers, has confirmed that drivers of the six Moroccan trucks attacked by armed men affiliated with Katiba Macina are safe.
Converging reports said earlier this week that attacks targeted six Moroccan trucks that were on their way to Bamako on Wednesday to transport food supplies.
The reports linked the attacks to an armed group affiliated with the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), which allegedly set the trucks ablaze amid a fragile security situation in the region.
Sabihi confirmed to Moroccan news outlet Le360 that the attack occurred on the road linking Gogui Zammal on the Mauritanian border to the Malian village of Gogui.
She described the territory as a “no man’s land where terrorist groups operate from the surrounding localities.”
The representative also confirmed that the truckers are safe and sound, adding that similar incidents reignited concerns over the security of commercial corridors.
Le360 said the attacks are allegedly part of a campaign to disrupt Bamako’s supply routes, recalling the armed group’s recent attempts to restrict logistical movement across different areas, including Morocco, Mauritania, and Senegal.
“Rachida Sabihi also pointed to the failure of some drivers to comply with security instructions requiring travel in convoys escorted by Malian armed forces. She stressed that these rules are primarily intended to protect drivers and minimize the risks of attacks in sensitive areas,” the same source added.
The Sahel region remains a major concern for the international community, which has been alerting on the need for a shared responsibility and cooperation to mitigate the fragile situation in a region marred by terrorist acts and malicious activities, including human and drug trafficking.
In April, JNIM and Tuareg separatists from the Azawad Liberation Front launched assaults across multiple Malian cities, targeting strategic sites in Bamako, among other cities.
Morocco’s government condemned the attack and expressed support for Mali’s stability.
Recent reports on Polisario’s involvement in the instability in Mali also sparked concerns over the fragility of the situation.
In April, an unverified viral video shows a man affiliated with Polisario, a separatist group backed by Algeria’s regime, claiming he had arrived at the “battlefield” in the Kidal region, which Touareg rebels attacked.
