Mali Shuts Down Educational Institutions and Universities as Jihadist Restrictions Worsens Fuel Crisis
The landlocked West African country has closed schools and colleges countrywide due to a severe petrol shortage caused by a embargo on energy resources implemented by militant groups.
Minister of Education announced on national broadcast that all academic facilities would be inactive until November 9th, clarifying that the movement of employees and students had been affected by the imposed limitations.
He emphasized that the authorities were “making every effort” to resolve the situation so that academic sessions could resume on 10 November.
For several weeks, the nation has been experiencing a energy deficit, particularly in the administrative center, after militants from an jihadist network enforced a embargo by targeting fuel trucks on major highways.
The country is surrounded by land, so all energy resources are brought in by truck from neighboring states such as Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.
Long queues have been winding around fuel outlets in Bamako in the past few weeks, and the city's usually crowded streets have now reportedly fallen quiet.
The ruling military council had previously reassured citizens that it was only a short-term problem, but the emergency has continued.
Recently, the American diplomatic mission in Bamako stated that non-essential diplomatic staff and their families would leave the country amid the deteriorating petrol scarcity and growing safety issues.
It said that the energy interruptions had affected the energy availability and had the “ability to disturb” the general safety conditions in unforeseen manners.
The West African nation is now led by a army council under the leadership of General Goïta, who seized power in a coup in 2021.
The military government had widespread approval when it took power, committing to address the long-running security crisis triggered by a autonomy movement in the northern region by Tuareg communities, which was then hijacked by extremist groups.
The international UN troops and European soldiers had been stationed in 2013 to deal with the growing rebellion.
The international troops have departed since the new administration came in, and the current administration has contracted Russian mercenaries to tackle the insecurity.
Nevertheless, the militant uprising has continued and significant areas of the north and east of the nation remain beyond state authority.
