🔗 Share this article Mali Closes Educational Institutions and Higher Education Centers as Jihadist Restrictions Exacerbates Petrol Shortage Prolonged lines have been forming around fuel pumps in recent weeks Mali has suspended educational facilities and colleges throughout the country due to a acute petrol shortage caused by a blockade on energy resources implemented by Islamist insurgents. The Education Minister declared on public media that all academic facilities would remain closed until the ninth of November, noting that the movement of staff and students had been disrupted by the blockade. He emphasized that the administration were “making every effort” to end the emergency so that academic sessions could resume on 10 November. For several weeks, the nation has been facing a petrol crisis, notably in the capital Bamako, after armed groups from an al-Qaeda affiliate enforced a embargo by striking tankers on primary roads. The country is surrounded by land, so all energy resources are delivered by land routes from bordering countries such as Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire. Long queues have been forming around petrol stations in the capital in the past few weeks, and the city's usually crowded streets have now allegedly grown silent. The junta-led administration had earlier this month reassured residents that it was only a short-term problem, but the emergency has continued. Recently, the US Embassy in Bamako stated that non-essential diplomatic staff and their relatives would leave the country amid the deteriorating energy crisis and escalating security concerns. It said that the energy interruptions had disrupted the power distribution and had the “potential to disrupt” the overall security situation in unforeseen manners. The West African nation is presently governed by a army council under the leadership of the military leader, who seized power in a military overthrow in recently. The military government had popular support when it came to authority, vowing to address the protracted safety emergency triggered by a independence uprising in the northern region by Tuareg communities, which was then hijacked by Islamist militants. The UN peacekeeping mission and French forces had been stationed in 2013 to combat the growing rebellion. The international troops have left since the military assumed power, and the ruling council has contracted Russian mercenaries to address the instability. Nevertheless, the Islamist rebellion has continued and significant areas of the north and east of the country remain outside government control.