Kayes Region

Kayes Region occupies Mali's western corridor to Senegal and Mauritania, controlling critical trade arteries now paralyzed by jihadist activity. Armed groups besieging the commune of Diéma have blocked the Casablanca-Nouakchott-Bamako corridor—a keystone transport link that connected Mali to Atlantic ports and Moroccan markets. This creates classic network disruption: cutting a single node collapses system-wide connectivity, isolating landlocked Mali from maritime trade. The region hosts significant gold mining operations, making it strategically valuable as Mali became Africa's second-largest gold producer and the junta consolidated control over extractive industries. In March 2025, the government suspended foreign artisanal gold mining licenses following mining disasters, demonstrating how resource extraction operates under deteriorating safety conditions. Kayes historically served as Mali's colonial capital before French administration shifted to Bamako, leaving path-dependent infrastructure (rail terminus, administrative buildings) that persists despite the governance shift. The region's position on the Senegal River creates agricultural potential unrealized due to security constraints—farmers cannot access fields or markets when armed groups control roads. Labor emigration to France established diaspora networks that send remittances sustaining households without generating local productive capacity.