🔗 Share this article The West African nation Suspends Educational Institutions and Higher Education Centers as Islamist Militant Restrictions Exacerbates Petrol Emergency Lengthy lines have been appearing around gas stations in the last few days Mali has temporarily halted schools and higher learning institutions countrywide due to a severe fuel scarcity triggered by a embargo on energy resources implemented by Islamist insurgents. Minister of Education stated on public media that all learning centers would remain closed until November 9th, noting that the transportation of staff and pupils had been affected by the restrictions. He stated that the government officials were “doing everything possible” to resolve the situation so that classes could resume on the tenth of November. For a number of weeks, Mali has been facing a fuel shortage, notably in the capital Bamako, after militants from an jihadist network enforced a blockade by striking transport vehicles on key routes. The country is landlocked, so all petroleum products are delivered by road from bordering countries such as Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire. Lengthy waits have been snaking around petrol stations in the main city in recent weeks, and the city's normally bustling streets have now reportedly fallen quiet. The military government had previously promised citizens that it was only a short-term problem, but the crisis has persisted. Recently, the American diplomatic mission in Bamako stated that non-critical embassy personnel and their families would depart the country amid the deteriorating fuel shortage and growing safety issues. It explained that the fuel disruptions had impacted the energy availability and had the “capacity to affect” the overall security situation in unexpected forms. Mali is currently ruled by a military junta led by the military leader, who assumed authority in a takeover in 2021. The military government had widespread approval when it took power, promising to deal with the protracted safety emergency prompted by a independence uprising in the northern region by ethnic Tuaregs, which was then hijacked by jihadist fighters. The international UN troops and France's military had been sent in previously to combat the growing rebellion. Both have left since the military assumed power, and the ruling council has contracted foreign fighters to tackle the insecurity. However, the militant uprising has persisted and extensive regions of the northern and eastern territories of the state remain beyond state authority.