🔗 Share this article The West African nation Suspends Educational Institutions and Higher Education Centers as Jihadist Blockade Worsens Fuel Crisis Extended queues have been snaking around gas stations in the past few weeks Mali has temporarily halted schools and universities countrywide due to a critical petrol shortage triggered by a embargo on fuel imports implemented by jihadist fighters. Minister of Education declared on public media that all education institutions would remain closed until the ninth of November, noting that the transportation of employees and pupils had been impacted by the blockade. He asserted that the government officials were “working tirelessly” to end the situation so that academic sessions could continue on the tenth of November. For a number of weeks, Mali has been experiencing a energy deficit, especially in the administrative center, after armed groups from an al-Qaeda-linked organization initiated a embargo by targeting fuel trucks on major highways. The country is surrounded by land, so all energy resources are brought in by land routes from neighboring states such as Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire. Lengthy waits have been forming around fuel outlets in the capital in the past few weeks, and the city's normally bustling streets have now reportedly grown silent. The ruling military council had previously reassured residents that it was only a passing concern, but the situation has persisted. Recently, the American diplomatic mission in Bamako declared that non-critical embassy personnel and their dependents would depart the country amid the worsening petrol scarcity and escalating safety issues. It explained that the energy interruptions had disrupted the power distribution and had the “potential to disrupt” the broader protection environment in unexpected forms. The West African nation is currently ruled by a army council led by the military leader, who assumed authority in a military overthrow in two years ago. The military government had popular support when it came to authority, promising to tackle the ongoing instability triggered by a independence uprising in the northern region by Tuareg communities, which was then co-opted by Islamist militants. The UN peacekeeping mission and French forces had been sent in a decade ago to deal with the growing rebellion. These forces have departed since the new administration came in, and the current administration has employed private military contractors to tackle the instability. Nonetheless, the jihadist insurgency has persisted and significant areas of the northern and eastern territories of the country remain not under administrative command.