Mali Closes Schools and Universities as Islamist Militant Restrictions Intensifies Fuel Crisis
Mali has closed educational facilities and higher learning institutions across the nation due to a severe fuel scarcity caused by a restriction on petroleum supplies implemented by Islamist insurgents.
Top education official declared on national broadcast that all education institutions would remain closed until the ninth of November, clarifying that the movement of employees and students had been affected by the blockade.
He asserted that the authorities were “doing everything possible” to resolve the situation so that classes could restart on the tenth of November.
For weeks, the nation has been facing a fuel shortage, particularly in the capital Bamako, after armed groups from an al-Qaeda-linked organization enforced a blockade by attacking transport vehicles on primary roads.
Mali is landlocked, so all fuel supplies are delivered by road from bordering countries such as Senegal and the neighboring nation.
Lengthy waits have been snaking around petrol stations in the capital in the last several days, and the city's normally bustling streets have now reportedly fallen quiet.
The ruling military council had earlier this month promised residents that it was only a temporary issue, but the crisis has endured.
Recently, the US Embassy in the capital stated that non-critical embassy personnel and their families would leave the country amid the worsening petrol scarcity and growing security concerns.
It explained that the energy interruptions had affected the power distribution and had the “potential to disrupt” the overall security situation in unexpected forms.
Mali is currently ruled by a armed forces administration under the leadership of General Goïta, who assumed authority in a military overthrow in recently.
The military government had widespread approval when it came to authority, committing to deal with the ongoing instability caused by a separatist rebellion in the northern territories by Tuareg communities, which was then taken over by Islamist militants.
The United Nations stabilization force and European soldiers had been sent in 2013 to deal with the escalating insurgency.
The international troops have withdrawn since the new administration came in, and the ruling council has hired Russian mercenaries to address the instability.
However, the jihadist insurgency has endured and large parts of the north and east of the state remain not under administrative command.