🔗 Share this article The West African nation Shuts Down Schools and Higher Education Centers as Islamist Militant Restrictions Exacerbates Petrol Crisis Extended lines have been snaking around fuel pumps in recent weeks Mali has closed schools and higher learning institutions across the nation due to a critical fuel scarcity resulting from a restriction on fuel imports implemented by Islamist insurgents. Minister of Education stated on national broadcast that all education institutions would remain closed until 9 November, clarifying that the transportation of staff and learners had been disrupted by the blockade. He emphasized that the administration were “doing everything possible” to alleviate the situation so that educational activities could resume on the tenth of November. For several weeks, the nation has been grappling with a fuel shortage, especially in the main city, after insurgents from an jihadist network enforced a blockade by targeting transport vehicles on major highways. The country is without coastal access, so all fuel supplies are delivered by land routes from bordering countries such as Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire. Lengthy waits have been forming around petrol stations in Bamako in the last several days, and the city's normally bustling streets have now allegedly grown silent. The military government had previously assured citizens that it was only a passing concern, but the emergency has persisted. Recently, the US Embassy in Bamako stated that non-essential diplomatic staff and their relatives would evacuate Mali amid the deteriorating energy crisis and increasing security concerns. It said that the energy interruptions had affected the supply of electricity and had the “ability to disturb” the general safety conditions in unexpected forms. The West African nation is presently governed by a armed forces administration headed by the military leader, who took control in a takeover in two years ago. The junta had widespread approval when it took power, vowing to address the protracted safety emergency caused by a autonomy movement in the northern territories by ethnic Tuaregs, which was then co-opted by extremist groups. The UN peacekeeping mission and European soldiers had been deployed in 2013 to combat the escalating insurgency. The international troops have departed since the junta took over, and the military government has employed foreign fighters to tackle the violence. However, the Islamist rebellion has continued and large parts of the northern and eastern zones of the country remain not under administrative command.