Mali (MNN) — The African Union has appealed for an international response to the rising terrorism in the Sahel region. Today, Mali is being strangled by a series of blockades led by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda linked group.

Mali’s capital, Bamako, has been without fuel imports since September. Surrounding cities and communities are suffering too, as insurgents use a favorite strategy. 

“They are avoiding direct confrontation by attacking many cities. By imposing a blockade, it is another way to put high pressure on the government or security forces,” says Illia Djadi with Open Doors International. He serves as the senior analyst for freedom of religion and belief in sub-Saharan Africa.

The central Sahel countries of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger are some of the poorest in the world, Djadi explains. Though their governments are willing to fight, they have little capacity to oppose well-equipped insurgents. They are also the only countries where both an al-Qaeda-linked group and an Islamic State-affiliated group are active.

“That’s why this region —central Sahel — has become now the new epicenter of international jihad, or international terrorism,” Djadi says. “The Islamists are putting a lot of pressure on the countries and the population living there. It is a very fragile context. That’s why the pressure on the Christian minority is also high.”

Whether tied to al-Qaeda or the Islamic State, these insurgents share the same ideology and goal: to establish a caliphate and impose Sharia law. As they gain control, they are scattering the local church. 

“Their primary target is Christians. When they first attacked Mali in 2012, they attacked and destroyed churches. They killed Christians, and many of them fled northern Mali to elsewhere, to become internally displaced, or refugees in neighboring countries,” says Djadi.

Flag of Mali (Stock photo courtesy of Aboodi Vesakaran via Pexels)

They will tell Christians, “This is the deal: convert to Islam, or be killed.” Many believers who have the choice will escape to another region, often arriving empty-handed and having witnessed terrible violence. Christians who can’t escape either lose their lives or live under heavy restrictions and taxation.

Ask God to strengthen believers in Mali with resilience and faithfulness to the end. Pray for global support for Mali’s leaders, that they may be able to fulfill their responsibility to protect their citizens.

“This is a forgotten crisis, but it’s a major crisis which has displaced millions in the Sahel and elsewhere,” says Djadi.

“Let’s continue to pray, but let’s continue also to provide support, because they are in need of support. At Open Doors, we are working closely with partner churches locally: how to provide the basics for the Christians living there, how to provide trauma care, and how to provide food for them to feel like they are not alone in these difficult circumstances.”

Header image is a stock photo courtesy of Alfred Dena via Pexels.