The West African nation Shuts Down Educational Institutions and Higher Education Centers as Islamist Militant Blockade Exacerbates Fuel Emergency

Long queues at petrol stations in Mali
Extended queues have been snaking around gas stations in the past few weeks

The landlocked West African country has closed educational facilities and colleges countrywide due to a severe fuel scarcity resulting from a restriction on energy resources enforced by Islamist insurgents.

Minister of Education announced on public media that all learning centers would remain closed until the ninth of November, clarifying that the movement of employees and pupils had been disrupted by the imposed limitations.

He emphasized that the administration were “working tirelessly” to resolve the situation so that educational activities could restart on the tenth of November.

For a number of weeks, Mali has been grappling with a petrol crisis, particularly in the main city, after militants from an al-Qaeda-linked organization enforced a embargo by targeting fuel trucks on primary roads.

Mali is without coastal access, so all energy resources are delivered by land routes from adjacent nations such as its western neighbor and the neighboring nation.

Extended lines have been snaking around petrol stations in Bamako in the past few weeks, and the city's usually crowded streets have now reportedly become deserted.

The military government had in recent days promised residents that it was only a temporary issue, but the emergency has persisted.

Last week, the American diplomatic mission in Bamako stated that non-essential diplomatic staff and their relatives would evacuate the country amid the intensifying fuel shortage and growing security concerns.

It noted that the energy interruptions had disrupted the energy availability and had the “capacity to affect” the broader protection environment in unforeseen manners.

Mali is currently ruled by a army council under the leadership of General Goïta, who seized power in a takeover in recently.

The ruling council had public backing when it assumed control, vowing to deal with the protracted safety emergency triggered by a autonomy movement in the northern region by the Tuareg population, which was then taken over by jihadist fighters.

The UN peacekeeping mission and French forces had been deployed in 2013 to combat the growing rebellion.

These forces have left since the military assumed power, and the military government has contracted foreign fighters to tackle the violence.

Nonetheless, the militant uprising has continued and extensive regions of the northern and eastern territories of the nation remain outside government control.

Beth Little
Beth Little

A creative director with over a decade of experience in print media and digital design, passionate about helping brands tell their stories.