Ofure Akhigbe
The Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, on Sunday, November 9, 2025, called for urgent international action over Mali’s rapidly deteriorating security crisis.
In a statement released that day, Youssouf expressed “deep concern over the escalating violence” and condemned recent jihadist attacks targeting civilians. He said the security crisis demanded “coordinated international cooperation and intelligence sharing” to effectively counter terrorism in the Sahel.
The al-Qaeda-linked group Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has intensified its assaults across Mali in recent months. The group also imposed a blockade on the capital, Bamako, in retaliation for the military government’s ban on fuel sales in rural areas — a move that has deepened Mali’s economic woes by halting fuel deliveries to the city.
Youssouf further denounced the “severely worsened humanitarian conditions” facing civilians and condemned the abduction of three Egyptian nationals by JNIM, demanding their “immediate and unconditional release.”
In recent weeks, several Western governments, including France and the United States, have advised their citizens to leave Mali amid the growing security crisis.
The AU Commission Chairperson reaffirmed the bloc’s commitment to work with regional and international partners to restore peace and stability in Mali and the wider Sahel region, stressing that only joint global efforts can bring a lasting end to the security crisis.