Mali tightens security by banning high-capacity motorcycles outside urban centers
In response to escalating security threats, Malian authorities have imposed a sweeping ban on the use and import of motorcycles with engine displacements of 125 cm³ or higher in areas outside Bamako and other major urban hubs.
This decisive action follows a dramatic deterioration in security conditions, with jihadist groups intensifying attacks and imposing a blockade on key roadways leading to the capital. Motorcycles have become a primary tool for militant movements across the region, prompting immediate regulatory intervention.
The emergency decree, announced during a national television broadcast on June 3, specifically targets motorized two-wheelers commonly used by armed groups operating in Mali.
Under the new regulations, “the circulation of motorcycles with engine capacities of 125 cm³ or greater is suspended throughout the national territory, except within Bamako and designated regional, district, and municipal administrative centers.”
Urban areas exempt from motorcycle restrictions
The directive explicitly excludes “the Bamako District and the principal cities of Regions, Circles, and Arrondissements” from these restrictions. Additionally, authorities have moved to halt all importation, transit, commercialization, sale, and even free distribution of these motorcycles and their components across the entire country.
Mali has been grappling with an unprecedented security crisis following coordinated assaults on April 25 and 26 by the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) – Al-Qaeda’s Sahel affiliate – alongside elements of the predominantly Tuareg Azawad Liberation Front (FLA).
Since April 30, jihadist factions have maintained a crippling road blockade on multiple arteries leading to Bamako, exacerbating an already volatile situation.
