A bitter Eid al-Adha in Mali’s capital as al-Qaida-linked blockade sends sheep prices soaring

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — As Muslims around the world prepare to celebrate Eid al-Adha, the feast of sacrifice, the holiday carries a bitter edge in Mali ’s capital. A blockade by armed groups linked to al-Qaida has sent sheep prices soaring and put the central ritual of slaughtering an animal and sharing its meat with the poor beyond the reach of many families.

The shortage and high prices are largely due to a blockade of Bamako announced earlier this month by fighters from Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, an al-Qaida-linked group. The militants regularly attack convoys of trucks and vehicles transporting goods to the capital, often setting them ablaze.

Landlocked Mali depends heavily on fuel and goods trucked in from coastal neighbors like Senegal and Ivory Coast. The militants’ blockade is designed to strangle the country’s economy and undermine the military government’s legitimacy, analysts say.

The blockade is not total, as the armed groups avoid holding roadblocks for long, fearing retaliation from the Malian army, and goods continue to trickle into Bamako, staving off an outright food shortage for now.

Nonetheless, it has driven up prices for some goods like meat and led to fuel shortages, forcing residents to line up at the few gas stations still selling fuel.

Since September 2025, the group had already enforced a stifling road blockade on oil imports.

Mountaga Touré, 38, a teacher, said he visited several livestock markets before ultimately giving up on buying a sheep for the feast, saying the price of sheep has almost doubled since the blockade was announced.

“The small sheep that used to cost $177 are now $266 or more,” Touré said.

In some neighborhoods of Bamako, residents have swapped the traditional sheep for cows, pooling money to purchase one so they can have meat during the important Muslim holiday in West Africa.

The blockade follows sweeping, coordinated attacks by separatist and jihadi forces across Mali last month, the largest in the country in over a decade.

Mali has been plagued by insurgencies fought by militants affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, as well as a separatist rebellion in the country’s north for over a decade.

Following a 2020 military coup, the ruling junta turned from Western allies to Russia for help combating Islamic militants. But the security situation has worsened in recent times, analysts say, with a record number of attacks by militants. Government forces and Russian mercenaries have also been accused of killing civilians they suspect of collaborating with militants.

The Malian army and its Russian Africa Corps mercenaries are circumventing the blockade by escorting convoys of trucks carrying goods and fuel to supply markets in Bamako. The military also regularly says it struck positions held by armed groups.

But the escorts and strikes have not been enough to adequately supply the capital, residents say.

“Usually, I bring up to 200 sheep to Bamako to sell during Tabaski,” said Amadou Cissé, 45, a livestock trader specializing in Eid sheep, using the West African word for the holiday. “But this year I barely brought 50 because there is not enough space in army-escorted trucks.”

Cissé said the sheep he ordered are still in Diema, a town some 345 km (215 miles) west of Bamako, where many animals bound for the capital originate.

“I was told more escorted convoys would be organized, but so far none have left Diema, so I doubt the sheep will arrive before the holiday,” he said.

Drissa Traoré, who has been selling sheep in Bamako for over a decade, said supply has dropped significantly recently. “This year, we have barely half the number of sheep we usually have during Tabaski,” he said.

The insecurity has also affected the travel plans of many.

Sidi Diarra, an employee at a major financial institution in Bamako, said he usually celebrates the holiday with his parents in Segou, around 240 km (150 miles) from the capital.

“This year, I am afraid to go because of attacks by extremist groups. It is safer to stay in Bamako,” he said.