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The landlocked West African country has closed schools and universities throughout the country due to a acute fuel scarcity resulting from a blockade on energy resources imposed by jihadist fighters.

Minister of Education declared on national broadcast that all learning centers would stay shut until 9 November, clarifying that the movement of staff and pupils had been impacted by the imposed limitations.

He emphasized that the authorities were “working tirelessly” to resolve the crisis so that academic sessions could restart on November 10th.

For a number of weeks, the nation has been grappling with a energy deficit, particularly in the capital Bamako, after armed groups from an al-Qaeda-linked organization initiated a blockade by attacking fuel trucks on key routes.

Mali is surrounded by land, so all energy resources are transported by truck from neighboring states such as its western neighbor and Côte d'Ivoire.

Long queues have been forming around fuel outlets in the main city in the last several days, and the city's typically busy streets have now apparently fallen quiet.

The ruling military council had previously promised the public that it was only a passing concern, but the situation has continued.

Recently, the American diplomatic mission in the capital announced that non-essential diplomatic staff and their relatives would depart Mali amid the worsening fuel shortage and increasing safety issues.

It said that the energy interruptions had affected the power distribution and had the “potential to disrupt” the overall security situation in unforeseen manners.

Mali is currently ruled by a military junta under the leadership of Gen Assimi Goïta, who took control in a coup in 2021.

The ruling council had widespread approval when it assumed control, vowing to address the long-running security crisis triggered by a independence uprising in the northern territories by the Tuareg population, which was then taken over by extremist groups.

The United Nations stabilization force and European soldiers had been deployed in 2013 to deal with the escalating insurgency.

Both have departed since the military assumed power, and the ruling council has employed private military contractors to address the insecurity.

However, the Islamist rebellion has endured and significant areas of the northern and eastern zones of the nation remain beyond state authority.