Mali bans motorcycles and closes forests to civilians in an effort to combat terrorism.

Written by: Ayman Ragab

The Malian government has issued a joint ministerial decree prohibiting, until further notice, the operation of motorcycles with engine capacities of 125cc and above outside major urban areas. The same decree also suspends the import, transit, and sale of these vehicles throughout the country.

Some forests are known as terrorist hideouts and have now become restricted areas for the public in order to better track them.

Hassoum Dicko, coordinator of the Civic Education and Local Governance Program, believes that ”exceptional circumstances require exceptional decisions, allowing Mali to be safe and the government to secure the population.“.

He adds: ”Those who complain about the suspension of the use of motorcycles with large engines should realize that this suspension is temporary. The government has realized that our enemies use the same motorcycles. For them, this decision allows them to distinguish between the enemies and the people.“.

Motorcycle ban in Mali

Regarding protected forests, Hassoum Diko stated: ”Closing some forests to the public is not a negative decision. This decision aims to track terrorists to their last strongholds. According to him, it has been observed that terrorists use these reserves as their headquarters, and that they constitute extremely dangerous havens for the country’s security.”.

Deco called on his fellow citizens to understand the essence of these decisions, which were taken in a specific context.

For his part, Mamoutou Coulibaly, communications officer for the military defense group, believes that “when a country is at war, like ours, it must take exceptional measures to overcome the crisis and establish peace. Therefore, I support the two decisions taken by the authorities. I urge Malians to abide by the government’s directives.” He concludes his statement by expressing his hope that ”these decisions will contribute to reducing the terrorist threat throughout Mali.”.