🔗 Share this article The West African nation Closes Educational Institutions and Higher Education Centers as Jihadist Blockade Worsens Fuel Shortage Prolonged lines have been appearing around fuel pumps in the last few days Mali has temporarily halted educational facilities and higher learning institutions throughout the country due to a critical fuel scarcity resulting from a blockade on petroleum supplies enforced by Islamist insurgents. Minister of Education declared on public media that all education institutions would remain closed until November 9th, clarifying that the transportation of staff and pupils had been affected by the restrictions. He emphasized that the authorities were “working tirelessly” to alleviate the emergency so that academic sessions could continue on 10 November. For several weeks, Mali has been facing a petrol crisis, notably in the capital Bamako, after armed groups from an al-Qaeda affiliate initiated a blockade by striking transport vehicles on primary roads. Mali is surrounded by land, so all petroleum products are transported by road from bordering countries such as Senegal and Ivory Coast. Lengthy waits have been forming around gas pumps in Bamako in the last several days, and the city's typically busy streets have now apparently become deserted. The ruling military council had previously assured residents that it was only a passing concern, but the crisis has continued. Recently, the United States diplomatic office in Bamako declared that secondary diplomatic employees and their families would evacuate Mali amid the deteriorating petrol scarcity and escalating protection worries. It said that the energy interruptions had affected the power distribution and had the “capacity to affect” the general safety conditions in unpredictable ways. Mali is currently ruled by a armed forces administration led by Gen Assimi Goïta, who assumed authority in a takeover in 2021. The military government had widespread approval when it took power, committing to address the long-running security crisis prompted by a separatist rebellion in the north by Tuareg communities, which was then co-opted by jihadist fighters. The UN peacekeeping mission and France's military had been stationed in previously to combat the escalating insurgency. These forces have withdrawn since the junta took over, and the current administration has employed foreign fighters to combat the insecurity. Nevertheless, the Islamist rebellion has continued and large parts of the northern and eastern territories of the state remain beyond state authority.