Mali Shuts Down Educational Institutions and Universities as Islamist Militant Blockade Worsens Petrol Emergency

The landlocked West African country has temporarily halted schools and universities throughout the country due to a acute fuel scarcity resulting from a embargo on energy resources enforced by jihadist fighters.

Minister of Education announced on national broadcast that all academic facilities would stay shut until November 9th, explaining that the travel of staff and pupils had been disrupted by the restrictions.

He emphasized that the authorities were “doing everything possible” to alleviate the crisis so that classes could continue on November 10th.

For several weeks, Mali has been grappling with a petrol crisis, notably in the capital Bamako, after armed groups from an jihadist network initiated a blockade by targeting transport vehicles on major highways.

The country is surrounded by land, so all fuel supplies are delivered by land routes from neighboring states such as its western neighbor and Ivory Coast.

Extended lines have been forming around fuel outlets in Bamako in the past few weeks, and the city's normally bustling streets have now apparently fallen quiet.

The ruling military council had in recent days assured citizens that it was only a short-term problem, but the situation has persisted.

In the past few days, the US Embassy in Bamako declared that non-essential diplomatic staff and their relatives would evacuate the country amid the deteriorating energy crisis and growing protection worries.

It said that the petroleum supply issues had impacted the power distribution and had the “potential to disrupt” the broader protection environment in unpredictable ways.

Mali is now led by a military junta led by the military leader, who took control in a military overthrow in two years ago.

The military government had public backing when it came to authority, committing to address the protracted safety emergency prompted by a separatist rebellion in the north by ethnic Tuaregs, which was then taken over by jihadist fighters.

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

The international troops have departed since the military assumed power, and the military government has employed private military contractors to address the insecurity.

Nonetheless, the jihadist insurgency has persisted and extensive regions of the north and east of the state remain outside government control.