The African Union (AU) has called for an immediate and coordinated international response to the worsening security crisis in Mali, where Al Qaeda-linked militants have imposed a crippling fuel blockade and stepped up kidnappings, threatening to plunge the country deeper into chaos.

Since September, the group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) — an Al Qaeda affiliate active across the Sahel — has restricted fuel imports into Mali, cutting off essential supplies and paralyzing daily life. The blockade has forced schools, hospitals, and businesses to close, disrupted transport networks, and deepened the country’s humanitarian emergency.

In a statement on Sunday, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the AU Commission, expressed “deep concern over the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Mali, where terrorist groups have imposed blockades, disrupted access to essential supplies, and severely worsened humanitarian conditions for civilians.”

Youssouf urged enhanced intelligence-sharing and international cooperation to support Sahel nations battling extremist violence. He also demanded the immediate release of three Egyptian nationals reportedly kidnapped by JNIM militants.

The insurgent group, notorious for financing its operations through ransom payments, has increasingly targeted foreign nationals. Reuters recently reported that two United Arab Emirates citizens were freed in October after an alleged $50 million ransom was paid.

As insecurity worsens, Western governments, including the United States, France, Britain, and Italy, have advised their citizens to leave Mali. Meanwhile, schools in the capital, Bamako, reopened on Monday after a two-week closure caused by fuel shortages.

The AU’s warning underscores growing alarm that, without stronger regional coordination and sustained international engagement, Mali’s conflict could escalate further, undermining stability across the already volatile Sahel region.