Mali Closes Schools and Universities as Jihadist Restrictions Intensifies Fuel Crisis
Mali has temporarily halted educational facilities and higher learning institutions throughout the country due to a acute petrol shortage triggered by a restriction on fuel imports imposed by Islamist insurgents.
The Education Minister stated on public media that all education institutions would be inactive until November 9th, noting that the travel of personnel and pupils had been affected by the blockade.
He stated that the government officials were “working tirelessly” to resolve the crisis so that educational activities could resume on 10 November.
For weeks, Mali has been facing a petrol crisis, notably in the capital Bamako, after militants from an jihadist network initiated a blockade by striking transport vehicles on primary roads.
Mali is without coastal access, so all fuel supplies are transported by truck from bordering countries such as Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.
Long queues have been forming around petrol stations in the capital in the last several days, and the city's usually crowded streets have now reportedly grown silent.
The military government had earlier this month assured the public that it was only a passing concern, but the crisis has continued.
Last week, the US Embassy in the capital declared that non-critical embassy personnel and their dependents would evacuate the country amid the worsening fuel shortage and escalating security concerns.
It noted that the energy interruptions had disrupted the supply of electricity and had the “potential to disrupt” the broader protection environment in unforeseen manners.
The West African nation is currently ruled by a armed forces administration led by Gen Assimi Goïta, who seized power in a military overthrow in 2021.
The junta had widespread approval when it took power, vowing to tackle the ongoing instability triggered by a separatist rebellion in the north by the Tuareg population, which was then co-opted by Islamist militants.
The UN peacekeeping mission and French forces had been sent in previously to combat the increasing militant activity.
Both have departed since the new administration came in, and the military government has contracted private military contractors to combat the instability.
However, the Islamist rebellion has continued and large parts of the northern and eastern territories of the state remain beyond state authority.
