Challenges on multiple corridors serving Mali are reshaping the habits of regional transporters. Beyond calls to suspend certain routes and concerns voiced by professional associations, disruptions on trade arteries are now impacting freight costs, delivery times, and the organisation of logistics chains linking Bamako to its main commercial partners.

As a landlocked nation, Mali relies heavily on regional road transport. The Dakar-Bamako corridor remains one of the main entry points for Malian imports. In 2024, approximately 2.6 million tonnes of goods destined for Mali passed through the port of Dakar, highlighting the economic significance of this route for the country’s supply. Security concerns are now leading to concrete actions by transporters. In Senegal, the Union of Road Transporters reports that at least eleven Senegalese trucks operating on routes to Mali have been burned in recent weeks. Professional organisations have called on drivers to reduce or suspend certain trips, arguing that the risks are becoming economically unsustainable.

The events of May 6 further deepened these concerns. Several commercial convoys were attacked on the route linking the Mauritanian border to Bamako. Moroccan union officials say more than fifteen trucks from Morocco, Senegal and Mauritania were targeted by armed groups. At least six Moroccan heavy trucks were set on fire.

This incident also had repercussions in Morocco, where many road transport operators are now exercising greater caution regarding routes to Mali. For transport companies, the calculations are shifting rapidly: higher insurance premiums, vehicle immobilisation, increased security costs and more detours are cutting into margins on routes that are already long and expensive.

The Guinea-Mali corridor is no longer immune to disruptions. Since attacks reported in late April on this major trade route, the movement of goods and travellers has slowed significantly. Yet this route plays a key role in diversifying Mali’s logistics, particularly through the port of Conakry. The difficulties on this road limit the alternatives available when other corridors face stress.

The consequences now go beyond transport companies alone. On several routes, drivers are extending waiting times before departure, some convoys travel in groups, and families go days without news of relatives who have taken the road. For economic operators, each interruption increases storage costs, delays deliveries, and slows trade. When multiple corridors are disrupted simultaneously, it is the supply to the Malian market, regional logistics timelines, and cross-border economic activity that directly bear the brunt of these difficulties.

Three years after the security reorientation by Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger — characterised by a distancing from several Western partners and closer ties with Russia — security challenges continue to weigh on the Sahel. These security difficulties are now increasingly affecting regional trade and traffic on key commercial routes. The ripple effects are felt well beyond the borders of the Alliance of Sahel States: transport organisations in Senegal, Moroccan operators, and Mauritanian convoys are expressing major concerns over the risks on certain Malian roads.