The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is calling on the government of Mali to urgently intervene to protect truck drivers following a wave of deadly attacks targeting fuel convoys and key transport corridors across the country.
In a letter sent to Prime Minister Général Abdoulaye Maïga, ITF General Secretary Stephen Cotton expressed the ITF’s full solidarity with its Malian affiliate Synacor and all road transport workers facing escalating violence.
The intervention follows a brutal ambush by armed groups on 29 January 2026 along the Diboli–Kayes corridor in western Mali, when more than 15 fuel tanker drivers were killed and dozens of trucks destroyed.
Workers targeted as fuel blockade escalates
Since September 2025, terrorist groups operating across the Sahel have increasingly targeted fuel convoys and transport corridors linking Mali to neighbouring countries Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, in efforts to isolate the capital of Mali, Bamako, and choke off essential supplies. Reports indicate drivers were stopped, executed and their bodies were left abandoned beside burned tankers.
The blockade has already had severe economic consequences. Fuel shortages have paralysed businesses, and insecurity along critical trade corridors has stalled regional supply chains, leaving thousands of shipping containers stranded and threatening further price increases and shortages of essential goods.
In the letter, the ITF condemns the attacks: “The targeted killing of petrol truck drivers – workers assassinated simply for performing their essential duties – is a grave crime. The deliberate strategy adopted by terrorist groups in the Sahel to target fuel convoys is an immoral assault on working people, designed to strangle the Malian economy and destabilise the region.”
The Federation backs Synacor’s decision to declare an indefinite strike halting loading and unloading operations following the killings, a move taken after drivers concluded that continuing to work without protection meant risking their lives.
The ITF calls on the government of Mali to act immediately
The ITF’s letter sets out urgent demands to the Malian government, placing responsibility on authorities to guarantee workers’ safety:
- Immediate repatriation of victims: The ITF and Synacor demand the immediate recovery and return of the bodies of drivers killed in the January attack and earlier incidents.
- Enhanced security guarantees: The Federation calls on the Malian government to provide genuine, effective, and permanent armed protection for transport convoys.
- End the blockade: The ITF urges the government to take all necessary measures to end the blockade that has disrupted and brought essential public services to a standstill.
Transport workers at the centre of the Sahel crisis
The escalating violence reflects a wider regional security crisis across the Sahel, where armed groups are increasingly targeting infrastructure and supply chains – placing transport workers directly in the line of fire.
ITF Congress delegates recognised these dangers during the 46th ITF Congress in Marrakech, adopting Resolution A05: Crisis in the Sahel Countries, which warns that insecurity and armed violence across the region threatens workers’ lives, disrupts the movement of goods and people, and undermines economic stability. The resolution commits the ITF to advocating for the protection of transport workers and civilians, defending the free movement of essential supplies, and mobilising international solidarity in response to escalating violence.
Image credit: REUTERS
