Mali Shuts Down Schools and Universities as Islamist Militant Blockade Exacerbates Fuel Crisis
The landlocked West African country has temporarily halted schools and colleges throughout the country due to a severe fuel scarcity caused by a blockade on energy resources imposed by Islamist insurgents.
Minister of Education declared on state television that all academic facilities would remain closed until 9 November, clarifying that the transportation of personnel and pupils had been affected by the restrictions.
He stated that the administration were “working tirelessly” to end the emergency so that academic sessions could resume on November 10th.
For several weeks, Mali has been grappling with a petrol crisis, notably in the capital Bamako, after armed groups from an al-Qaeda affiliate enforced a blockade by striking transport vehicles on major highways.
Mali is landlocked, so all petroleum products are transported by land routes from adjacent nations such as Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.
Lengthy waits have been snaking around fuel outlets in the capital in recent weeks, and the city's usually crowded streets have now apparently fallen quiet.
The military government had previously reassured residents that it was only a short-term problem, but the crisis has endured.
Recently, the American diplomatic mission in Bamako declared that non-essential diplomatic staff and their families would depart Mali amid the deteriorating petrol scarcity and escalating protection worries.
It explained that the energy interruptions had disrupted the supply of electricity and had the “capacity to affect” the general safety conditions in unexpected forms.
The West African nation is now led by a military junta headed by General Goïta, who assumed authority in a military overthrow in two years ago.
The ruling council had public backing when it took power, vowing to deal with the ongoing instability triggered by a autonomy movement in the northern territories by the Tuareg population, which was then taken over by Islamist militants.
The UN peacekeeping mission and European soldiers had been deployed in a decade ago to deal with the escalating insurgency.
The international troops have left since the new administration came in, and the current administration has contracted private military contractors to combat the instability.
Nevertheless, the jihadist insurgency has endured and extensive regions of the northern and eastern zones of the country remain outside government control.
