Market News

Fadimata Kontao and Tiemoko Diallo

BAMAKO, Aug 1 (Reuters) – Mali will set up a state-owned airline to service the vast, landlocked West African country more than a decade after the closure of the last national airline, the government announced on Wednesday night.

The new airline, Mali Airlines-SA, will service regional capitals, the military-led government said in a statement, but provided few other details.

Mali, which covers a swathe of the Sahel five times the size of Britain, shares 7,420 kilometres (4,610 miles) of border with seven countries, according to the statement.

Road travel can be dangerous in Mali, which has been struggling to contain a separatist rebellion and insurgencies by jihadist groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State that began more than a decade ago and have since spread into neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, as well as coastal countries.

Ethnic Tuareg rebels and Islamist fighters have killed a large number of Malian soldiers and their Russian allies in recent days.

The Council of Ministers adopted draft texts concerning the creation and approval of the airline during their weekly meeting on Wednesday.

In July, Mali said it was unable to refuel commercial aircraft in its capital Bamako due to fuel shortages and asked airlines to refuel elsewhere for a one-week period.

Airlines including Turkish Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines currently service Bamako.

(Reporting by Fadimata Kontao and Tiemoko Diallo; Writing by Portia Crowe; Editing by Alex Richardson)