The West African nation Closes Schools and Universities as Jihadist Restrictions Worsens Fuel Emergency
The landlocked West African country has temporarily halted schools and universities across the nation due to a severe fuel scarcity triggered by a embargo on energy resources imposed by Islamist insurgents.
Top education official stated on state television that all education institutions would remain closed until November 9th, clarifying that the travel of employees and pupils had been disrupted by the imposed limitations.
He asserted that the government officials were “working tirelessly” to resolve the situation so that educational activities could restart on November 10th.
For weeks, Mali has been experiencing a petrol crisis, notably in the administrative center, after armed groups from an jihadist network imposed a restriction by attacking transport vehicles on key routes.
Mali is without coastal access, so all energy resources are delivered by road from bordering countries such as its western neighbor and Ivory Coast.
Long queues have been snaking around gas pumps in Bamako in the last several days, and the city's usually crowded streets have now apparently fallen quiet.
The ruling military council had in recent days assured residents that it was only a short-term problem, but the emergency has persisted.
Last week, the US Embassy in the capital announced that non-critical embassy personnel and their relatives would leave Mali amid the deteriorating energy crisis and escalating security concerns.
It explained that the fuel disruptions had disrupted the power distribution and had the “potential to disrupt” the general safety conditions in unforeseen manners.
The West African nation is now led by a army council led by General Goïta, who took control in a coup in two years ago.
The junta had widespread approval when it assumed control, vowing to deal with the long-running security crisis triggered by a independence uprising in the north by ethnic Tuaregs, which was then co-opted by jihadist fighters.
The United Nations stabilization force and French forces had been deployed in 2013 to address the increasing militant activity.
Both have left since the new administration came in, and the current administration has hired private military contractors to tackle the instability.
However, the Islamist rebellion has continued and extensive regions of the northern and eastern territories of the state remain beyond state authority.