Mali Closes Schools and Higher Education Centers as Islamist Militant Blockade Worsens Fuel Emergency
The landlocked West African country has closed schools and universities across the nation due to a critical energy crisis caused by a embargo on petroleum supplies imposed by jihadist fighters.
Minister of Education announced on public media that all academic facilities would remain closed until 9 November, noting that the transportation of personnel and learners had been affected by the blockade.
He stated that the authorities were “working tirelessly” to end the emergency so that educational activities could resume on 10 November.
For a number of weeks, the nation has been experiencing a petrol crisis, notably in the capital Bamako, after militants from an al-Qaeda affiliate enforced a blockade by targeting fuel trucks on primary roads.
Mali is landlocked, so all petroleum products are transported by road from adjacent nations such as its western neighbor and the neighboring nation.
Extended lines have been snaking around fuel outlets in the capital in the past few weeks, and the city's normally bustling streets have now allegedly grown silent.
The military government had earlier this month reassured citizens that it was only a passing concern, but the situation has persisted.
In the past few days, the American diplomatic mission in the capital declared that non-critical embassy personnel and their families would leave the country amid the deteriorating energy crisis and escalating protection worries.
It said that the energy interruptions had affected the energy availability and had the “potential to disrupt” the overall security situation in unexpected forms.
Mali is now led by a armed forces administration headed by General GoĂŻta, who seized power in a coup in two years ago.
The ruling council had widespread approval when it assumed control, committing to deal with the long-running security crisis prompted by a autonomy movement in the north by the Tuareg population, which was then co-opted by Islamist militants.
The UN peacekeeping mission and European soldiers had been sent in a decade ago to address the increasing militant activity.
The international troops have departed since the new administration came in, and the ruling council has contracted Russian mercenaries to combat the instability.
However, the militant uprising has persisted and extensive regions of the northern and eastern territories of the country remain not under administrative command.