Mali Shuts Down Schools and Universities as Islamist Militant Blockade Exacerbates Petrol Emergency
Mali has temporarily halted schools and colleges throughout the country due to a acute petrol shortage triggered by a blockade on energy resources implemented by militant groups.
Top education official announced on national broadcast that all learning centers would stay shut until November 9th, noting that the travel of personnel and students had been disrupted by the imposed limitations.
He asserted that the government officials were “making every effort” to end the situation so that academic sessions could continue on November 10th.
For several weeks, the nation has been experiencing a fuel shortage, notably in the capital Bamako, after insurgents from an jihadist network enforced a blockade by attacking tankers on key routes.
Mali is landlocked, so all energy resources are brought in by road from adjacent nations such as Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.
Extended lines have been winding around gas pumps in Bamako in recent weeks, and the city's typically busy streets have now reportedly grown silent.
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 relatives would depart the country amid the intensifying petrol scarcity and escalating safety issues.
It noted that the energy interruptions had affected the power distribution and had the “ability to disturb” the broader protection environment in unexpected forms.
Mali is presently governed by a army council led by General Goïta, who took control in a military overthrow in 2021.
The junta had public backing when it took power, vowing to address the long-running security crisis prompted by a independence uprising in the north by ethnic Tuaregs, which was then taken over by Islamist militants.
The UN peacekeeping mission and France's military had been stationed in 2013 to combat the growing rebellion.
The international troops have left since the new administration came in, and the current administration has employed private military contractors to address the insecurity.
Nevertheless, the militant uprising has endured and large parts of the northern and eastern zones of the nation remain not under administrative command.