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By Portia Crowe and David Lewis<\/p>\n
DAKAR, May 1 (Reuters) – Al Qaeda-linked insurgents have called on Malians to rise up against the military-led government and transition to Sharia law, as multiple security \u200csources said the group had set up checkpoints around the capital and seized a northern town.<\/p>\n
The \u200clatest incidents come just days after Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) launched unprecedented assaults across the country on April 25 in coordination with the \u200bTuareg-dominated rebel group the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA).<\/p>\n
Bases throughout the landlocked African country and near the capital Bamako were hit in those attacks, which killed Mali’s defence minister. The town of Kidal was also seized.<\/p>\n
The group, which threatened a total blockade of Bamako following the attacks, has established a number of checkpoints on several major arteries leading to \u200cthe city, five sources told Reuters on \u2060Friday. The FLA also seized the northern town of Tessalit.<\/p>\n
“We call upon all sincere patriots, without exception, to rise up and unite,” the group said in a rare \u2060French-language statement issued late on Thursday and confirmed by the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group.<\/p>\n
JNIM usually issues statements in Arabic, although French is the official language in Mali for government and business.<\/p>\n
The statement called for political parties, soldiers, religious authorities, traditional \u200bleaders and “all \u200bsegments of Malian society” to end the “dictatorship” of the \u200bgovernment, which it described as a “terrorist junta.”<\/p>\n
“Overthrowing the \u200cjunta is not enough. We must, together, prevent any chaotic vacuum that would plunge our nation into total collapse,” the statement said.<\/p>\n
It called for a “peaceful, responsible, and inclusive transition” and for the establishment of Sharia law.<\/p>\n
Mali’s military leaders seized power in back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021. Military leader Assimi Goita said in a televised address on Tuesday that the situation was under control, and vowed to “neutralise” the insurgent groups behind the attacks.<\/p>\n
BAMAKO BLOCKADE<\/p>\n
One \u200csecurity source said on Friday that militants had mounted some \u200bkind of checkpoints on three roads outside the capital – the RN24 \u200bto the northwest, the RN7 to the south \u200band RN6 to the east. Another security analyst said there were checkpoints on RN5, to \u200cthe southwest of the capital.<\/p>\n
It was not immediately \u200bclear how strictly they were \u200bcontrolling the flow of people and goods in and out of the city.<\/p>\n
One businessman said goods were being prevented from entering the capital.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, the northern town of Tessalit was seized by the FLA \u200bon Friday, six sources told Reuters.<\/p>\n
A video \u200cverified by Reuters shows militants driving through Tessalit and raising the FLA flag.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for \u200bMali’s military did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Portia Crowe and David Lewis; \u200bAdditional reporting by Aaron McNicholas; Editing by Sharon Singleton)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n