Days after at least 15 people were killed in a deadly attack on a fuel tanker convoy in western Mali, Afp is reporting, based on local sources, that authorities are putting the blame on jihadists. The assault came amid a months-long fuel blockade that had only recently begun to ease.

Local officials say dozens of tankers were set ablaze on Thursday along a key road linking the Senegalese border to the city of Kayes.

The Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, known as JNIM, said it ambushed Malian forces in the area but did not mention the tankers. Since September, the group has repeatedly targeted fuel convoys as part of a blockade aimed at choking Mali’s economy.

While attacks had declined in recent weeks and fuel supplies were improving, especially in the capital Bamako, this latest assault marks the deadliest strike of its kind since early December, raising fresh fears of renewed disruption.