Mali releases over 100 suspected jihadists in agreement to halt fuel convoy attacks

More than 100 suspected jihadists have been released from detention in recent days in Mali as part of an agreement aimed at stopping attacks on fuel convoys.

The attacks had severely crippled the impoverished West African nation, according to official and security sources who spoke to Agence France Presse (AFP).
Since last September, jihadists belonging to the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), an affiliate of Al-Qaeda, have been targeting tanker convoys. The situation escalated to the point where the capital, Bamako, came to a complete standstill during the peak of the crisis in October.
A local elected official confirmed to AFP the “release of more than 100 jihadists” in exchange for “the opening of a corridor to allow tanker trucks to move freely.”
“We learned this week that over a hundred young individuals accused of being jihadists were released by state security services,” the official said, adding that “in return, fuel convoys have not been attacked.” The representative is based in central Mali but resides in Bamako.
Several security sources also told AFP that the truce is expected to remain in effect until the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, locally known as Tabaski, scheduled for the end of May.
Additionally, an association representing the Fulani ethnic group disclosed that many of its members who had been arrested were also freed. The group is often wrongly associated with jihadist activities.
Since 2012, Mali has been grappling with a deep security crisis driven largely by violence from groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, along with local criminal networks.