Mali's military said it had carried out airstrikes in the gold-rich western region of Kayes after terrorists took steps to impose a blockade on fuel imports to the landlocked West African country's capital, Bamako.

The operations are the latest attempt by the Malian government to ease growing pressure from terrorists.

A so-called spokesperson for one of the terrorists groups announced the blockade and said it would also restrict the movements of residents of the western towns of Kayes and Nioro, near the border with Senegal and Mauritania.

Since the announcement, terrorists have stopped and emptied fuel trucks in the area, a Nioro resident told Reuters.

Airstrikes

In a statement on Monday, the army said it had conducted operations in the towns of Diema and Nioro.

Speaking on state television late on Sunday, a colonel posted in Nioro specified that the operations included airstrikes and that soldiers had also managed to free people taken hostage by the terrorists.

Some transport companies have suspended operations along the route from Bamako to Senegal's capital Dakar, a Malian truckers' union official told Reuters during the weekend, adding that the road between Bamako and the southern city of Segou had also been blocked.

On Friday, six truck drivers from neighbouring Senegal were kidnapped by "a terrorist group" in Mali, according to a Senegalese truckers' union. They were released the following day, Daouda Lo, spokesperson for the union, said.

Ramped up attacks

Since May, terrorists have attacked Malian and foreign-owned businesses in Kayes, including cement factories, sugar factories, and mines.

Multinational miners, including Barrick Mining and B2Gold, operate in the region.