🔗 Share this article

Mali has temporarily halted schools and colleges countrywide due to a severe petrol shortage resulting from a restriction on energy resources enforced by jihadist fighters.

The Education Minister announced on public media that all learning centers would be inactive until 9 November, noting that the movement of staff and pupils had been affected by the imposed limitations.

He emphasized that the administration were “doing everything possible” to resolve the situation so that academic sessions could resume on 10 November.

For several weeks, Mali has been experiencing a fuel shortage, particularly in the capital Bamako, after militants from an jihadist network enforced a blockade by attacking transport vehicles on key routes.

Mali is surrounded by land, so all fuel supplies are brought in by truck from bordering countries such as Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.

Extended lines have been forming around gas pumps in Bamako in the past few weeks, and the city's usually crowded streets have now reportedly grown silent.

The ruling military council had earlier this month promised residents that it was only a short-term problem, but the emergency has endured.

Last week, the American diplomatic mission in the capital declared that secondary diplomatic employees and their families would evacuate the country amid the intensifying energy crisis and growing security concerns.

It noted that the petroleum supply issues had affected the power distribution and had the “ability to disturb” the broader protection environment in unpredictable ways.

The West African nation is now led by a army council led by the military leader, who assumed authority in a military overthrow in two years ago.

The military government had widespread approval when it assumed control, promising to tackle the protracted safety emergency caused by a separatist rebellion in the northern region by Tuareg communities, which was then taken over by Islamist militants.

The United Nations stabilization force and European soldiers had been stationed in previously to combat the increasing militant activity.

These forces have left since the junta took over, and the military government has contracted private military contractors to tackle the instability.

Nonetheless, the jihadist insurgency has persisted and significant areas of the northern and eastern territories of the country remain not under administrative command.