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Mali has closed schools and universities throughout the country due to a acute energy crisis triggered by a embargo on petroleum supplies imposed by jihadist fighters.

Minister of Education announced on public media that all academic facilities would stay shut until 9 November, clarifying that the travel of personnel and pupils had been disrupted by the blockade.

He emphasized that the administration were “making every effort” to alleviate the crisis so that academic sessions could restart on November 10th.

For a number of weeks, Mali has been facing a fuel shortage, notably in the administrative center, after insurgents from an jihadist network imposed a embargo by striking tankers on primary roads.

The country is landlocked, so all fuel supplies are delivered by road from neighboring states such as its western neighbor and the neighboring nation.

Lengthy waits have been snaking around petrol stations in Bamako in the past few weeks, and the city's normally bustling streets have now allegedly become deserted.

The junta-led administration had in recent days promised residents that it was only a short-term problem, but the situation has continued.

In the past few days, the US Embassy in the capital stated that non-critical embassy personnel and their families would evacuate the country amid the worsening fuel shortage and escalating security concerns.

It said that the energy interruptions had affected the energy availability and had the “capacity to affect” the overall security situation in unpredictable ways.

Mali is currently ruled by a military junta led by the military leader, who seized power in a coup in 2021.

The ruling council had public backing when it assumed control, committing to address the long-running security crisis triggered by a separatist rebellion in the northern territories by the Tuareg population, which was then taken over by jihadist fighters.

The United Nations stabilization force and European soldiers had been deployed in a decade ago to deal with the increasing militant activity.

Both have withdrawn since the military assumed power, and the ruling council has employed foreign fighters to address the insecurity.

Nevertheless, the jihadist insurgency has continued and extensive regions of the northern and eastern territories of the country remain beyond state authority.