Mali Shuts Down Educational Institutions and Universities as Islamist Militant Restrictions Exacerbates Petrol Shortage

Mali has temporarily halted schools and higher learning institutions countrywide due to a critical fuel scarcity resulting from a restriction on fuel imports imposed by militant groups.

The Education Minister announced on state television that all education institutions would remain closed until the ninth of November, explaining that the movement of employees and pupils had been disrupted by the blockade.

He asserted that the authorities were “working tirelessly” to end the situation so that educational activities could resume on November 10th.

For weeks, Mali has been grappling with a fuel shortage, especially in the administrative center, after militants from an al-Qaeda affiliate imposed a embargo by targeting transport vehicles on major highways.

The country is surrounded by land, so all petroleum products are delivered by truck from adjacent nations such as its western neighbor and the neighboring nation.

Lengthy waits have been snaking around petrol stations in the capital in recent weeks, and the city's normally bustling streets have now reportedly fallen quiet.

The ruling military council had earlier this month promised the public that it was only a temporary issue, but the emergency has continued.

Last week, the US Embassy in the capital announced that non-critical embassy personnel and their relatives would depart Mali amid the deteriorating fuel shortage and escalating safety issues.

It explained that the fuel disruptions had impacted the energy availability and had the “ability to disturb” the broader protection environment in unexpected forms.

The West African nation is now led by a armed forces administration headed by General Goïta, who seized power in a takeover in recently.

The ruling council had popular support when it assumed control, committing to tackle the ongoing instability caused by a independence uprising in the northern territories by ethnic Tuaregs, which was then taken over by extremist groups.

The international UN troops and European soldiers had been stationed in previously to deal with the growing rebellion.

Both have left since the military assumed power, and the current administration has contracted foreign fighters to combat the insecurity.

However, the Islamist rebellion has continued and large parts of the north and east of the state remain beyond state authority.