Senegal, Morocco, Guinea: Mali supply corridors face major disruptions

The difficulties on several corridors serving Mali are beginning to change the habits of regional transporters. Behind the calls to suspend certain trips and the concerns expressed by professional organisations, the disruptions on trade routes now affect freight costs, delivery times, and the organisation of logistics chains linking Bamako to its main trading partners.

As a landlocked country, Mali relies heavily on regional road transport. The Dakar-Bamako corridor remains one of the main entry points for Malian imports. In 2024, around 2.6 million tonnes of goods destined for Mali passed through the port of Dakar, illustrating the economic weight of this axis for the country’s supply. Security concerns are now translating into concrete decisions by transporters. In Senegal, the Union of Truckers says at least eleven Senegalese trucks operating on Mali routes have been burned in recent weeks. Professional organisations have called on drivers to reduce or suspend certain trips, believing the risks have become economically unsustainable.

The incident of May 6 reinforced these fears. Several commercial convoys were attacked on the road linking the Mauritanian border to Bamako. More than fifteen Moroccan, Senegalese and Mauritanian trucks were targeted by armed groups, and at least six Moroccan heavy trucks were set on fire.

This episode also had repercussions in Morocco, where many road transport operators are now showing greater caution regarding Mali routes. For transport companies, the calculations are shifting rapidly: higher insurance costs, vehicle immobilisation, increased security expenses, and additional detours are squeezing profit margins on journeys that are already long and costly.

The Guinea-Mali corridor is no longer exempt from disruptions. Since the attacks reported in late April on this major trade route, the movement of goods and passengers has slowed significantly. Yet this itinerary plays an important role in Mali’s logistical diversification, especially via the port of Conakry. The difficulties observed on this road limit the alternatives available when other corridors are under strain.

The consequences now extend well beyond transport companies. On several axes, drivers are prolonging their waiting times before departure, some convoys are travelling in groups, and families have had no news from relatives who left on the roads several days earlier. For economic operators, each interruption increases storage costs, delays deliveries, and slows trade. When several corridors are disrupted simultaneously, it is the supply of the Malian market, regional logistics timelines, and cross-border economic activity that directly bear the impact.

Three years after the security reorientation by Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger—marked by a distancing from several Western partners and an increased rapprochement with Russia—security challenges continue to weigh on the Sahel. Security difficulties are now increasingly affecting regional trade and traffic on certain major commercial routes. The repercussions are felt well beyond the borders of the Alliance of Sahel States: transporter organisations in Senegal, Moroccan operators, and Mauritanian carriers are expressing serious concerns about the risks on certain Malian roads.