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More than 100 suspected terrorists have been released in Mali under an agreement aimed at stopping attacks on fuel convoys that have disrupted supply lines across the country, according to official and security sources on Sunday.
The deal follows months of assaults by militants linked to the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, an Al-Qaeda affiliate known by its Arab acronym JNIM, on tanker convoys, which previously brought the capital Bamako to a standstill at the height of the crisis.
A local official told AFP that more than 100 detainees were freed in exchange for safe passage arrangements that allowed fuel trucks to move without attack.
He said the releases were part of efforts to restore fuel supply routes, adding that convoys had since been able to travel without being targeted.
“We learned this week that more than a hundred young people accused of being jihadists have been released by the state security services” and in return, fuel convoys have not been attacked”, added an elected representative from central Mali who lives in Bamako.
Security sources said the arrangement is expected to remain in place until the end of May, around the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, known locally as Tabaski.
An association representing members of the Fulani community also confirmed that several detainees from the group had been released as part of the arrangement.
Mali has faced a prolonged security crisis since 2012, driven by insurgent groups linked to both Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, alongside armed criminal networks operating across the country.
