🔗 Share this article Mali Closes Educational Institutions and Universities as Islamist Militant Restrictions Exacerbates Petrol Shortage Extended queues have been forming around gas stations in the last few days Mali has closed schools and colleges throughout the country due to a critical energy crisis resulting from a embargo on petroleum supplies implemented by militant groups. The Education Minister declared on state television that all academic facilities would be inactive until 9 November, clarifying that the travel of employees and students had been impacted by the blockade. He stated that the government officials were “making every effort” to alleviate the situation so that academic sessions could resume on the tenth of November. For several weeks, Mali has been facing a petrol crisis, particularly in the administrative center, after armed groups from an jihadist network imposed a blockade by targeting transport vehicles on major highways. The country is without coastal access, so all energy resources are transported by truck from neighboring states such as Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire. Long queues have been snaking around petrol stations in Bamako in the past few weeks, and the city's normally bustling streets have now reportedly fallen quiet. The ruling military council had previously reassured the public that it was only a temporary issue, but the crisis has endured. Last week, the US Embassy in Bamako declared that secondary diplomatic employees and their families would depart Mali amid the worsening energy crisis and increasing safety issues. It explained that the energy interruptions had affected the supply of electricity and had the “potential to disrupt” the broader protection environment in unforeseen manners. Mali is presently governed by a military junta headed by Gen Assimi Goïta, who assumed authority in a takeover in two years ago. The ruling council had public backing when it assumed control, promising to deal with the ongoing instability caused by a independence uprising in the northern region by the Tuareg population, which was then co-opted by Islamist militants. The UN peacekeeping mission and France's military had been stationed in previously to combat the growing rebellion. These forces have withdrawn since the military assumed power, and the current administration has contracted foreign fighters to combat the insecurity. Nonetheless, the Islamist rebellion has endured and extensive regions of the northern and eastern zones of the country remain not under administrative command.