Mali Suspends Educational Institutions and Universities as Islamist Militant Restrictions Worsens Petrol Emergency
The landlocked West African country has temporarily halted educational facilities and universities countrywide due to a severe petrol shortage caused by a blockade on fuel imports implemented by Islamist insurgents.
The Education Minister stated on public media that all academic facilities would remain closed until 9 November, noting that the travel of personnel and learners had been impacted by the blockade.
He asserted that the administration were “working tirelessly” to alleviate the situation so that educational activities could resume on the tenth of November.
For a number of weeks, the nation has been grappling with a fuel shortage, especially in the main city, after insurgents from an al-Qaeda-linked organization imposed a embargo by striking fuel trucks on major highways.
Mali is landlocked, so all energy resources are brought in by road from bordering countries such as its western neighbor and Ivory Coast.
Extended lines have been winding around fuel outlets in the capital in the last several days, and the city's usually crowded streets have now reportedly fallen quiet.
The ruling military council had in recent days reassured citizens that it was only a passing concern, but the situation has persisted.
Last week, the American diplomatic mission in Bamako stated that non-critical embassy personnel and their families would leave the country amid the intensifying petrol scarcity and escalating security concerns.
It noted that the energy interruptions had disrupted the power distribution and had the “ability to disturb” the broader protection environment in unforeseen manners.
The West African nation is currently ruled by a military junta led by the military leader, who assumed authority in a coup in two years ago.
The junta had public backing when it came to authority, promising to deal with the long-running security crisis triggered by a autonomy movement in the northern region by Tuareg communities, which was then taken over by extremist groups.
The UN peacekeeping mission and French forces had been stationed in a decade ago to deal with the escalating insurgency.
Both have departed since the military assumed power, and the current administration has hired foreign fighters to address the violence.
Nevertheless, the jihadist insurgency has endured and extensive regions of the northern and eastern territories of the state remain not under administrative command.
