The West African nation Closes Schools and Higher Education Centers as Jihadist Blockade Intensifies Fuel Crisis
The landlocked West African country has suspended educational facilities and higher learning institutions throughout the country due to a severe fuel scarcity resulting from a embargo on fuel imports imposed by militant groups.
Top education official announced on state television that all education institutions would remain closed until 9 November, clarifying that the movement of employees and learners had been impacted by the restrictions.
He asserted that the government officials were “doing everything possible” to resolve the crisis so that academic sessions could resume on the tenth of November.
For several weeks, Mali has been facing a energy deficit, notably in the main city, after insurgents from an al-Qaeda-linked organization initiated a blockade by striking transport vehicles on major highways.
The country is landlocked, so all energy resources are delivered by truck from adjacent nations such as Senegal and the neighboring nation.
Long queues have been winding around petrol stations in the capital in the past few weeks, and the city's normally bustling streets have now allegedly grown silent.
The military government had previously assured citizens that it was only a short-term problem, but the crisis has continued.
Last week, the United States diplomatic office in Bamako announced that non-critical embassy personnel and their relatives would depart Mali amid the intensifying petrol scarcity and growing security concerns.
It noted that the fuel disruptions had disrupted the supply of electricity and had the “ability to disturb” the overall security situation in unpredictable ways.
Mali is now led by a army council headed by the military leader, who took control in a coup in 2021.
The military government had public backing when it assumed control, promising to deal with the protracted safety emergency triggered by a independence uprising in the northern region by the Tuareg population, which was then co-opted by jihadist fighters.
The United Nations stabilization force and France's military had been sent in previously to combat the increasing militant activity.
The international troops have left since the military assumed power, and the ruling council has contracted foreign fighters to tackle the violence.
Nonetheless, the Islamist rebellion has persisted and significant areas of the north and east of the state remain beyond state authority.