Mali’s interim government has banned the use of motorcycles with engines of 125cc or larger outside major urban areas, escalating its crackdown on jihadist groups that rely heavily on such vehicles for attacks and mobility. The decree, read on national television on Wednesday evening, also suspends the “import, transit, marketing, sale and free distribution” of these motorcycles and their accessories across the entire country.

The measure exempts Bamako, regional capitals and certain smaller urban centres, but otherwise strictly limits the circulation of powerful motorbikes—a preferred mode of transport for Islamist militants operating in the Sahel. Authorities did not specify how the ban would be enforced in rural areas where state presence is already thin.

The restrictions come as Mali confronts a sharp deterioration in security. On April 25 and 26, fighters linked to al-Qaeda and Tuareg separatists launched co-ordinated assaults on junta positions. Since April 30, the same groups have blockaded several key supply routes into Bamako, setting fire to dozens of buses and freight trucks and severely disrupting the flow of goods to the capital.

Armed factions have also captured swaths of the north, including the strategic town of Kidal, dealing a blow to the military rulers who seized power in a 2020 coup. The loss of Kidal, a longtime separatist stronghold, underscores the junta’s inability to halt a spiralling insurgency that now directly threatens the seat of government. By targeting the motorcycles insurgents use to navigate vast desert terrain, the government hopes to hamper their manoeuvrability, though critics warn the ban risks paralysing rural commerce and alienating populations already cut off from aid.