France, Feb. 7 -- The Malian Shippers' Council, a body attached to Mali's transport ministry, this week said the situation has become a major concern for national and regional supply chains.

It warned that empty containers are running dangerously low at the port of Dakar, threatening supplies to Mali and putting pressure on Malian businesses.

The authorities demanded the return of more than 4,000 containers still inside the country, most of them owned by shipping giants MSC and Hapag-Lloyd.It is not clear how long the containers have been blocked.

RFI contacted the Malian Shippers' Council and the transport ministry for an explanation on why the containers remained blocked, but neither responded.

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