Senegal bans motorbikes near Mali border over militant fears

DAKAR (AFP): Senegal officials have imposed a nighttime ban on motorcycles in an eastern region after militants used motorbikes in recent attacks in towns just over the border in Mali.

A decree published this week said the prohibition was for “security reasons,” after attackers targeted army positions in several Malian towns on July 1, killing at least one civilian.

One of the Malian towns, Diboli, is less than 500 meters from Kidira in Senegal.

The midnight-to-dawn motorbike ban applies to the Bakel region in Senegal, which stretches around 230 kilometers (140 miles) along the border with Mali.

The July 1 attacks in Mali were claimed by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, known by its Arabic initials JNIM, an Islamist outfit affiliated with Al-Qaeda that is active in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

JNIM has risen to become the most influential militant threat in the Sahel, according to the United Nations. Analysts say it has ambitions to expand from Mali into both Senegal and Mauritania.

Contacted by AFP on Saturday, the local administration of the Bakel region declined to comment on the motorbike ban.

Mali, ruled by a junta following two successive coups in 2020 and 2021, has been gripped by insecurity and violence from Al-Qaeda- and Daesh-linked groups for over a decade.