A two-week siege by Islamist militants has led to a shortage of food and aid in the ancient city of Timbuktu, the mayor and residents told media.
According to locals, roads to Timbuktu have been gridlocked by the al-Qaeda*-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims* (JNIM) since August 13, blocking humanitarian aid and food deliveries.
"We are witnessing a shortage of foodstuffs, with a general rise in prices," Timbuktu Mayor Aboubacrine Cisse is quoted by media as saying, adding that trucks from Algeria and Mauritania don't pull into the city.
The mayor added that he formed a commission of about 30 religious and ethnic leaders to ask the Islamists to lift the blockade.
Residents said that the city lacked fuel, gasoline, flour, couscous, milk and other food products due to the embargo.
Last week, the UN Humanitarian Agency said that some aid workers had failed to make it to the city by river and that there was a risk that health centers would run out of medicines.
In June, the Malian government requested that the UN end the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and fully withdraw its forces by the end of the year.
The government stated that MINUSMA's ten-year presence in the country had failed to adequately address the security situation and was contributing to escalating tensions.
*Terrorist organizations banned in Russia and many other countries