Mali Shuts Down Educational Institutions and Higher Education Centers as Jihadist Restrictions Exacerbates Petrol Crisis
The landlocked West African country has suspended schools and higher learning institutions across the nation due to a severe petrol shortage caused by a embargo on petroleum supplies enforced by jihadist fighters.
Top education official stated on state television that all academic facilities would remain closed until November 9th, clarifying that the movement of personnel and students had been impacted by the restrictions.
He emphasized that the administration were “working tirelessly” to resolve the emergency so that classes could continue on 10 November.
For weeks, the nation has been grappling with a fuel shortage, notably in the administrative center, after militants from an al-Qaeda affiliate enforced a blockade by targeting fuel trucks on key routes.
Mali is landlocked, so all fuel supplies are brought in by road from bordering countries such as its western neighbor and Côte d'Ivoire.
Extended lines have been winding around petrol stations in Bamako in recent weeks, and the city's usually crowded streets have now allegedly grown silent.
The junta-led administration had previously assured residents that it was only a passing concern, but the emergency has continued.
Last week, the American diplomatic mission in Bamako declared that non-essential diplomatic staff and their families would depart the country amid the worsening petrol scarcity and growing safety issues.
It explained that the petroleum supply issues had disrupted the power distribution and had the “ability to disturb” the broader protection environment in unexpected forms.
Mali is presently governed by a army council headed by General Goïta, who seized power in a coup in 2021.
The junta had widespread approval when it came to authority, promising to deal with the long-running security crisis caused 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 a decade ago to combat the escalating insurgency.
The international troops have left since the military assumed power, and the military government has employed foreign fighters to combat the insecurity.
However, the militant uprising has endured and large parts of the northern and eastern zones of the state remain outside government control.
