Authorities in Senegal have enacted a nighttime restriction on motorcycles in an eastern area following recent attacks by terrorists who used bikes in assaults in towns just beyond the border in Mali.
A decree released this week indicated that the ban is for “security reasons,” after assailants targeted military positions in various Malian towns on July 1, resulting in at least one civilian death.
Diboli, one of the Malian towns, is located less than 500 meters from Kidira in Senegal.
The ban on motorbikes from midnight to dawn is in effect for the Bakel region in Senegal, which runs approximately 230 kilometres (140 miles) along the border with Mali.
The Group claimed the attacks on July 1 in Mali for the Support of Islam and Muslims, known by its Arabic acronym JNIM, an Islamist group associated with Al-Qaeda that operates in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.
According to the United Nations, JNIM has emerged as the most prominent jihadist threat in the Sahel. Analysts suggest it aims to extend its influence from Mali into both Senegal and Mauritania.
Mali, which is under military rule following two consecutive coups in 2020 and 2021, has faced persistent insecurity and violence from groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State for over a decade.
