🔗 Share this article Mali Shuts Down Schools and Higher Education Centers as Islamist Militant Restrictions Worsens Fuel Shortage Extended queues have been appearing around petrol stations in the last few days The landlocked West African country has temporarily halted schools and higher learning institutions throughout the country due to a critical energy crisis caused by a restriction on energy resources imposed by militant groups. The Education Minister announced on state television that all academic facilities would be inactive until 9 November, clarifying that the travel of staff and students had been disrupted by the restrictions. He asserted that the authorities were “doing everything possible” to resolve the emergency so that classes could continue on the tenth of November. For weeks, Mali has been facing a fuel shortage, notably in the main city, after militants from an al-Qaeda affiliate imposed a embargo by attacking fuel trucks on major highways. The country is surrounded by land, so all petroleum products are brought in by truck from bordering countries such as Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire. Lengthy waits have been snaking around petrol stations in Bamako in the past few weeks, and the city's usually crowded streets have now apparently grown silent. The ruling military council had previously assured the public that it was only a short-term problem, but the crisis has endured. Recently, the American diplomatic mission in the capital declared that secondary diplomatic employees and their dependents would evacuate Mali amid the intensifying energy crisis and increasing protection worries. It noted that the petroleum supply issues had affected the supply of electricity and had the “capacity to affect” the broader protection environment in unpredictable ways. The West African nation is now led by a army council led by Gen Assimi Goïta, who took control in a takeover in recently. The military government had public backing when it took power, vowing to address the long-running security crisis triggered by a autonomy movement in the north by ethnic Tuaregs, which was then hijacked by jihadist fighters. The United Nations stabilization force and French forces had been deployed in previously to address the increasing militant activity. The international troops have left since the new administration came in, and the ruling council has employed Russian mercenaries to tackle the violence. Nevertheless, the jihadist insurgency has persisted and extensive regions of the north and east of the nation remain beyond state authority.