https://www.africanews.com/2023/09/21/truly-unbearable-timbuktu-suffocates-under-jihadist-blockade//

When jihadists in Mali announced they would blockade the ancient city of Timbuktu, residents thought it was just another intimidation tactic.

But a month and a half later, the tens of thousands of inhabitants remain almost completely cut off from the world with the agonising scenario having become a reality.

Half a dozen witnesses have described to AFP a life of scarcity and fear, as shells have begun to rain down and people increasingly feel in danger in a city where basic necessities are starting to run short.