The West African nation Closes Educational Institutions and Higher Education Centers as Islamist Militant Blockade Exacerbates Petrol Crisis
Mali has temporarily halted schools and universities across the nation due to a critical fuel scarcity triggered by a blockade on petroleum supplies enforced by militant groups.
Top education official stated on public media that all learning centers would stay shut until the ninth of November, explaining that the transportation of staff and pupils had been affected by the restrictions.
He asserted that the authorities were “doing everything possible” to alleviate the crisis so that educational activities could restart on 10 November.
For weeks, Mali has been experiencing a energy deficit, notably in the administrative center, after militants from an al-Qaeda affiliate enforced a restriction by targeting transport vehicles on primary roads.
The country is landlocked, so all petroleum products are delivered by truck from neighboring states such as Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.
Long queues have been snaking around gas pumps in Bamako in the last several days, and the city's normally bustling streets have now apparently fallen quiet.
The military government had previously promised citizens that it was only a temporary issue, but the emergency has persisted.
Last week, the American diplomatic mission in the capital stated that non-essential diplomatic staff and their relatives would depart Mali amid the intensifying energy crisis and growing safety issues.
It explained that the petroleum supply issues had affected the supply of electricity and had the “ability to disturb” the overall security situation in unexpected forms.
The West African nation is now led by a military junta led by Gen Assimi Goïta, who seized power in a coup in 2021.
The military government had public backing when it came to authority, vowing to deal with the protracted safety emergency caused by a autonomy movement in the northern territories by the Tuareg population, which was then co-opted by Islamist militants.
The UN peacekeeping mission and French forces had been deployed in 2013 to combat the increasing militant activity.
The international troops have left since the junta took over, and the current administration has employed foreign fighters to combat the violence.
Nonetheless, the militant uprising has endured and large parts of the northern and eastern zones of the nation remain outside government control.
