blockade

The fuel blockade has made everyday life in the west African country all but impossible.

Syrsky said Pokrovsk was under pressure from an "enemy group thousands strong", but denied reports that Moscow had encircled the logistics hub, saying there was "no blockade".

The blockade has hit the capital particularly hard the past two weeks, with the landlocked Sahel nation's economy grinding to a halt.

"If that administration's desire to support our people were sincere, they would have unconditionally lifted the criminal blockade," Roberto Morales Ojeda, a member of the Communist Party of Cuba's Politburo wrote on X.

And they were plunged into a severe hunger crisis by an RSF blockade of supplies and aid.