Mali Shuts Down Educational Institutions and Higher Education Centers as Islamist Militant Blockade Worsens Petrol Emergency

Long queues at petrol stations in Mali
Lengthy queues have been snaking around fuel pumps in recent weeks

Mali has closed schools and higher learning institutions throughout the country due to a acute energy crisis triggered by a blockade on energy resources enforced by jihadist fighters.

Minister of Education announced on state television that all education institutions would remain closed until the ninth of November, clarifying that the transportation of staff and learners had been affected by the blockade.

He stated that the administration were “making every effort” to alleviate the emergency so that educational activities could continue on November 10th.

For several weeks, the nation has been experiencing a fuel shortage, especially in the main city, after militants from an jihadist network initiated a blockade by striking transport vehicles on primary roads.

The country is landlocked, so all petroleum products are delivered by land routes from adjacent nations such as its western neighbor and Ivory Coast.

Long queues have been winding around fuel outlets in Bamako in recent weeks, and the city's usually crowded streets have now allegedly fallen quiet.

The junta-led administration had in recent days promised citizens that it was only a passing concern, but the crisis has persisted.

In the past few days, the American diplomatic mission in the capital stated that non-critical embassy personnel and their dependents would leave Mali amid the deteriorating fuel shortage and escalating safety issues.

It explained that the fuel disruptions had impacted the power distribution and had the “capacity to affect” the overall security situation in unexpected forms.

Mali is presently governed by a armed forces administration under the leadership of General Goïta, who took control in a coup in two years ago.

The junta had popular support when it assumed control, vowing to address the protracted safety emergency triggered by a autonomy movement in the northern territories by the Tuareg population, which was then hijacked by extremist groups.

The international UN troops and France's military had been stationed in a decade ago to combat the increasing militant activity.

These forces have withdrawn since the new administration came in, and the ruling council has employed foreign fighters to combat the insecurity.

Nonetheless, the militant uprising has continued and significant areas of the northern and eastern territories of the country remain beyond state authority.

Drew Davis
Drew Davis

A seasoned lifestyle journalist with a passion for luxury brands and global culture, sharing insights from over a decade in the industry.