🔗 Share this article The West African nation Closes Schools and Higher Education Centers as Jihadist Restrictions Worsens Fuel Crisis Extended queues have been appearing around gas stations in the last few days Mali has temporarily halted schools and universities countrywide due to a critical energy crisis triggered by a blockade on fuel imports enforced by jihadist fighters. The Education Minister declared on national broadcast that all academic facilities would be inactive until November 9th, clarifying that the transportation of personnel and pupils had been disrupted by the restrictions. He asserted that the government officials were “making every effort” to alleviate the situation so that classes could restart on November 10th. For several weeks, Mali has been facing a fuel shortage, notably in the capital Bamako, after armed groups from an al-Qaeda-linked organization enforced a embargo by attacking tankers on major highways. Mali is landlocked, so all energy resources are brought in by truck from adjacent nations such as Senegal and the neighboring nation. Lengthy waits have been snaking around gas pumps in Bamako in recent weeks, and the city's typically busy streets have now reportedly grown silent. The military government had previously promised the public that it was only a short-term problem, but the crisis has endured. In the past few days, the United States diplomatic office in the capital announced that non-essential diplomatic staff and their dependents would evacuate Mali amid the intensifying petrol scarcity and growing protection worries. It noted that the energy interruptions had affected the energy availability and had the “capacity to affect” the overall security situation in unforeseen manners. Mali is now led by a military junta headed by General Goïta, who assumed authority in a coup in recently. The junta had public backing when it took power, promising to deal with the protracted safety emergency caused by a autonomy movement in the north by Tuareg communities, which was then taken over by Islamist militants. The UN peacekeeping mission and French forces had been stationed in previously to deal with the increasing militant activity. These forces have left since the junta took over, and the ruling council has contracted Russian mercenaries to tackle the violence. Nonetheless, the jihadist insurgency has continued and large parts of the north and east of the nation remain not under administrative command.