Mali Closes Schools and Universities as Islamist Militant Blockade Worsens Fuel Crisis

Mali has temporarily halted educational facilities and higher learning institutions across the nation due to a severe energy crisis caused by a restriction on petroleum supplies imposed by militant groups.

Minister of Education declared on national broadcast that all academic facilities would stay shut until the ninth of November, clarifying that the transportation of employees and pupils had been disrupted by the imposed limitations.

He asserted that the government officials were “making every effort” to resolve the emergency so that classes could resume on November 10th.

For several weeks, the nation has been experiencing a energy deficit, especially in the capital Bamako, after insurgents from an jihadist network imposed a embargo by targeting fuel trucks on primary roads.

The country is without coastal access, so all fuel supplies are transported by road from bordering countries such as Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.

Extended lines have been winding around petrol stations in the main city in the last several days, and the city's normally bustling streets have now allegedly grown silent.

The ruling military council had previously reassured the public that it was only a short-term problem, but the crisis has endured.

Last week, the US Embassy in Bamako announced that non-essential diplomatic staff and their relatives would leave Mali amid the deteriorating petrol scarcity and increasing security concerns.

It said that the petroleum supply issues had impacted the supply of electricity and had the “capacity to affect” the broader protection environment in unpredictable ways.

Mali is currently ruled by a army council under the leadership of Gen Assimi Goïta, who assumed authority in a takeover in recently.

The ruling council had popular support when it took power, vowing to address the protracted safety emergency caused by a separatist rebellion in the northern region by the Tuareg population, which was then hijacked by extremist groups.

The UN peacekeeping mission and European soldiers had been deployed in a decade ago to deal with the increasing militant activity.

Both have withdrawn since the junta took over, and the current administration has hired Russian mercenaries to tackle the violence.

Nonetheless, the Islamist rebellion has continued and extensive regions of the northern and eastern territories of the state remain beyond state authority.