Mali Shuts Down Schools and Higher Education Centers as Jihadist Restrictions Worsens Fuel Crisis

Mali has temporarily halted educational facilities and colleges countrywide due to a acute fuel scarcity resulting from a embargo on petroleum supplies imposed by Islamist insurgents.

The Education Minister declared on public media that all academic facilities would be inactive until the ninth of November, noting that the movement of personnel and learners had been impacted by the blockade.

He emphasized that the authorities were “working tirelessly” to alleviate the emergency so that educational activities could restart on November 10th.

For weeks, Mali has been facing a energy deficit, particularly in the capital Bamako, after armed groups from an jihadist network imposed a restriction by attacking tankers on major highways.

Mali is surrounded by land, so all petroleum products are delivered by truck from bordering countries such as its western neighbor and Côte d'Ivoire.

Long queues have been winding around gas pumps in Bamako in the past few weeks, and the city's usually crowded streets have now reportedly fallen quiet.

The ruling military council had earlier this month reassured residents that it was only a temporary issue, but the emergency has persisted.

In the past few days, the American diplomatic mission in Bamako declared that non-essential diplomatic staff and their families would leave the country amid the deteriorating energy crisis and growing safety issues.

It noted that the petroleum supply issues had affected the power distribution and had the “capacity to affect” the broader protection environment in unexpected forms.

Mali is now led by a armed forces administration led by the military leader, who assumed authority in a coup in recently.

The ruling council had public backing when it took power, committing to address the ongoing instability prompted by a independence uprising in the northern region by Tuareg communities, which was then hijacked by jihadist fighters.

The United Nations stabilization force and French forces had been sent in 2013 to address the growing rebellion.

The international troops have withdrawn since the new administration came in, and the current administration has hired Russian mercenaries to address the violence.

Nonetheless, the jihadist insurgency has persisted and extensive regions of the northern and eastern zones of the nation remain outside government control.