Mali Closes Educational Institutions and Higher Education Centers as Islamist Militant Restrictions Exacerbates Fuel Crisis
The landlocked West African country has temporarily halted educational facilities and colleges across the nation due to a severe fuel scarcity resulting from a blockade on petroleum supplies imposed by militant groups.
The Education Minister announced on public media that all education institutions would remain closed until November 9th, explaining that the transportation of personnel and pupils had been disrupted by the imposed limitations.
He emphasized that the authorities were “working tirelessly” to resolve the emergency so that academic sessions could resume on November 10th.
For several weeks, Mali has been facing a fuel shortage, particularly in the administrative center, after armed groups from an jihadist network enforced a embargo by targeting transport vehicles on major highways.
Mali is without coastal access, so all energy resources are transported by truck from neighboring states such as Senegal and the neighboring nation.
Lengthy waits have been winding around gas pumps in the main city in the last several days, and the city's typically busy streets have now reportedly fallen quiet.
The ruling military council had earlier this month promised the public that it was only a temporary issue, but the crisis has continued.
Last week, the United States diplomatic office in Bamako announced that non-critical embassy personnel and their dependents would depart the country amid the deteriorating energy crisis and growing safety issues.
It noted that the energy interruptions had impacted the energy availability and had the “capacity to affect” the general safety conditions in unforeseen manners.
Mali is presently governed by a army council under the leadership of General Goïta, who assumed authority in a takeover in recently.
The junta had public backing when it assumed control, committing to deal with the ongoing instability triggered by a separatist rebellion in the northern territories by ethnic Tuaregs, which was then hijacked by extremist groups.
The UN peacekeeping mission and France's military had been sent in 2013 to address the escalating insurgency.
These forces have withdrawn since the new administration came in, and the military government has employed private military contractors to tackle the instability.
However, the Islamist rebellion has continued and large parts of the northern and eastern territories of the nation remain not under administrative command.
