The West African nation Closes Schools and Universities as Islamist Militant Blockade Exacerbates Fuel Emergency
Mali has closed educational facilities and universities countrywide due to a severe fuel scarcity caused by a restriction on energy resources implemented by jihadist fighters.
The Education Minister declared on state television that all learning centers would remain closed until November 9th, clarifying that the movement of staff and pupils had been disrupted by the restrictions.
He stated that the administration were “working tirelessly” to end the crisis so that academic sessions could resume on 10 November.
For weeks, Mali has been facing a energy deficit, notably in the capital Bamako, after armed groups from an jihadist network imposed a restriction by attacking fuel trucks on primary roads.
The country is without coastal access, so all fuel supplies are brought in by road from bordering countries such as Senegal and Ivory Coast.
Long queues have been winding around gas pumps in Bamako in the past few weeks, and the city's normally bustling streets have now allegedly grown silent.
The military government had in recent days assured citizens that it was only a temporary issue, but the situation has persisted.
In the past few days, the US Embassy in Bamako declared that non-critical embassy personnel and their dependents would leave Mali amid the deteriorating petrol scarcity and growing security concerns.
It noted that the energy interruptions had impacted the supply of electricity and had the “ability to disturb” the broader protection environment in unforeseen manners.
Mali is now led by a military junta headed by Gen Assimi Goïta, who seized power in a military overthrow in two years ago.
The military government had public backing when it took power, committing to deal with the protracted safety emergency prompted by a autonomy movement in the northern region by Tuareg communities, which was then taken over by jihadist fighters.
The UN peacekeeping mission and French forces had been sent in previously to deal with the increasing militant activity.
The international troops have departed since the junta took over, and the ruling council has hired private military contractors to address the insecurity.
Nonetheless, the militant uprising has endured and significant areas of the northern and eastern zones of the country remain outside government control.
