This report forms part of a series examining the links between conflict and hunger. It focuses on reported conflict incidents of food-related violence in Mali between 1 January 2019 and 15 June 2024. These incidents included the looting of livestock; the burning of granaries and markets; and the killings, abductions and physical assaults of people at and travelling to and from markets. Other factors undermining food security included blockades by armed groups on transportation routes and access restrictions on agricultural and pastoral land due to insecurity, improvised explosive devices and unexploded ordnance. The report demonstrates clear links between recurrent and specific forms of food-related violence and negative consequences for food access and availability among affected communities. By considering the foreseeable consequences of specific conflict actions for food security and actions to mitigate these consequences before their worse effects fully materialise, the report aims to support anticipatory action. The analysis is based on the Food Insecurity and Violent Conflict (FIVC)-Mali dataset, an event-based dataset compiled by Insecurity Insight from open sources and partner contributions, and available for download on the Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX). It is supported by desk research and key informant interviews.
Key findings
- Incidents of food-related violence were most frequently reported in the Mopti region, primarily in the south of the region. Incidents were also particularly frequent in the Gao and Ségou regions.
- Despite severe access restrictions following the imposition of a blockade by armed groups on Ménaka city, high incident numbers were also recorded in the Ménaka region. The region is projected to face IPC Phase 4 (“Emergency”) food insecurity between June and September 2024, with over 2,500 people expected to be in Phase 5 (“Famine”), the most severe projection in any region of Mali.
- The looting of livestock, including cattle, sheep and goats, was the most frequent form of food-related violence, with at least 708 incidents recorded in the analysed period. Several thousand animals were taken in some of these incidents by armed groups, which have often abducted and killed those resisting the looting and sold the stolen livestock for revenue that they have used to sustain their activities (e.g. by buying weapons).
- Conflict parties were reported to have deliberately set fire to granaries in at least 66 incidents, the majority of which were in the Mopti region. Frequently, multiple granaries were destroyed in single incidents, which often occurred during wider large-scale attacks on communities that resulted in civilian casualties and severe damage to and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.
- At least 210 violent incidents were reported at markets or directly affected people travelling to or from markets. The incidents were spread widely across the country and included, among other forms of violence, people being shot at, abducted and killed, and markets being set on fire by conflict parties.
- Other reported incidents of food-related violence included the looting and burning of harvests and fields by armed groups, and killings and other violent attacks on people fishing.
- The violence has severely undermined food availability and access in Mali. The looting of livestock has deprived communities of their livelihoods; violence at markets and on journeys to reach them has resulted in people being unable to safely access food; and the burning of granaries has destroyed staple food reserves.
- Blockades imposed by armed groups on urban areas and key transportation routes have limited the entry of food and humanitarian aid into these areas and caused considerable price rises for staple goods. Combined, these factors have made food less economically and physically accessible.
- Concerningly, reporting barriers, including limited internet connectivity and access restrictions due to insecurity, mean that the incidents documented in this report are only likely to provide a partial overview of the violence that civilians in Mali have suffered and its impact on food security.