Mali Closes Educational Institutions and Higher Education Centers as Jihadist Restrictions Intensifies Fuel Emergency
The landlocked West African country has temporarily halted schools and universities across the nation due to a severe petrol shortage triggered by a embargo on energy resources imposed by jihadist fighters.
The Education Minister announced on national broadcast that all education institutions would stay shut until the ninth of November, noting that the transportation of employees and learners had been affected by the blockade.
He stated that the government officials were “making every effort” to end the crisis so that educational activities could continue on the tenth of November.
For several weeks, the nation has been grappling with a fuel shortage, particularly in the capital Bamako, after armed groups from an al-Qaeda-linked organization imposed a blockade by striking fuel trucks on key routes.
The country is surrounded by land, so all energy resources are delivered by truck from neighboring states such as its western neighbor and Ivory Coast.
Extended lines have been snaking around gas pumps in the main city in the last several days, and the city's usually crowded streets have now reportedly fallen quiet.
The ruling military council had earlier this month assured citizens that it was only a passing concern, but the situation has continued.
Last week, the US Embassy in Bamako stated that secondary diplomatic employees and their relatives would evacuate the country amid the intensifying fuel shortage and increasing security concerns.
It explained that the petroleum supply issues had disrupted the supply of electricity and had the “capacity to affect” the broader protection environment in unexpected forms.
The West African nation is presently governed by a armed forces administration led by the military leader, who took control in a military overthrow in recently.
The ruling council had widespread approval when it assumed control, vowing to tackle the long-running security crisis triggered by a independence uprising in the northern territories by the Tuareg population, which was then co-opted by extremist groups.
The international UN troops and French forces had been sent in a decade ago to address the growing rebellion.
The international troops have departed since the military assumed power, and the ruling council has contracted private military contractors to tackle the violence.
Nonetheless, the jihadist insurgency has endured and large parts of the northern and eastern territories of the state remain outside government control.