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The landlocked West African country has suspended educational facilities and universities across the nation due to a acute petrol shortage triggered by a blockade on energy resources implemented by jihadist fighters.

Minister of Education stated on state television that all learning centers would remain closed until the ninth of November, explaining that the travel of employees and students had been affected by the restrictions.

He asserted that the government officials were “making every effort” to resolve the crisis so that classes could restart on 10 November.

For several weeks, Mali has been experiencing a energy deficit, notably in the capital Bamako, after armed groups from an jihadist network imposed a blockade by striking tankers on key routes.

Mali is landlocked, so all petroleum products are brought in by truck from neighboring states such as Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.

Long queues have been winding around petrol stations in the main city in the past few weeks, and the city's normally bustling streets have now apparently fallen quiet.

The junta-led administration had in recent days reassured residents that it was only a temporary issue, but the crisis has persisted.

Recently, the American diplomatic mission in the capital declared that secondary diplomatic employees and their dependents would evacuate Mali amid the worsening petrol scarcity and increasing protection worries.

It noted that the fuel disruptions had affected the power distribution and had the “potential to disrupt” the broader protection environment in unpredictable ways.

The West African nation is currently ruled by a military junta led by the military leader, who took control in a coup in 2021.

The military government had popular support when it took power, committing to tackle the protracted safety emergency prompted by a independence uprising in the north by Tuareg communities, which was then hijacked by jihadist fighters.

The United Nations stabilization force and European soldiers had been sent in a decade ago to address the growing rebellion.

These forces have left since the junta took over, and the ruling council has hired private military contractors to combat the insecurity.

However, the Islamist rebellion has persisted and significant areas of the north and east of the nation remain beyond state authority.