The West African nation Shuts Down Schools and Higher Education Centers as Islamist Militant Blockade Intensifies Petrol Crisis

Long queues at petrol stations in Mali
Lengthy lines have been snaking around gas stations in the last few days

The landlocked West African country has closed educational facilities and universities throughout the country due to a acute petrol shortage caused by a embargo on petroleum supplies imposed by militant groups.

Minister of Education announced on national broadcast that all learning centers would stay shut until November 9th, explaining that the transportation of employees and learners had been impacted by the blockade.

He stated that the authorities were “working tirelessly” to end the emergency so that classes could resume on the tenth of November.

For a number of weeks, Mali has been experiencing a petrol crisis, notably in the capital Bamako, after armed groups from an al-Qaeda affiliate enforced a blockade by attacking fuel trucks on major highways.

The country is surrounded by land, so all energy resources are transported by land routes from neighboring states such as its western neighbor and the neighboring nation.

Extended lines have been winding around fuel outlets in the capital in the past few weeks, and the city's usually crowded streets have now apparently grown silent.

The ruling military council had in recent days reassured residents that it was only a short-term problem, but the crisis has persisted.

In the past few days, the American diplomatic mission in Bamako declared that secondary diplomatic employees and their relatives would depart Mali amid the intensifying energy crisis and increasing safety issues.

It noted that the fuel disruptions had disrupted the power distribution and had the “capacity to affect” the general safety conditions in unforeseen manners.

Mali is now led by a armed forces administration led by General Goïta, who took control in a coup in 2021.

The military government had popular support when it assumed control, promising to address the protracted safety emergency triggered by a separatist rebellion in the northern territories by Tuareg communities, which was then co-opted by extremist groups.

The United Nations stabilization force and France's military had been sent in a decade ago to deal with the escalating insurgency.

The international troops have departed since the junta took over, and the military government has contracted foreign fighters to combat the violence.

Nevertheless, the jihadist insurgency has endured and large parts of the northern and eastern territories of the nation remain beyond state authority.

Amanda Mcgee
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