The West African nation Suspends Educational Institutions and Universities as Islamist Militant Blockade Intensifies Fuel Shortage

The landlocked West African country has suspended schools and colleges across the nation due to a acute energy crisis caused by a embargo on energy resources imposed by Islamist insurgents.

Top education official announced on national broadcast that all learning centers would remain closed until November 9th, explaining that the movement of employees and learners had been impacted by the imposed limitations.

He stated that the government officials were “making every effort” to resolve the situation so that classes could resume on November 10th.

For weeks, the nation has been experiencing a fuel shortage, notably in the main city, after insurgents from an jihadist network initiated a blockade by attacking tankers on primary roads.

The country is without coastal access, so all fuel supplies are delivered by land routes from neighboring states such as its western neighbor and Ivory Coast.

Extended lines have been forming around gas pumps in the capital in the past few weeks, and the city's typically busy streets have now apparently fallen quiet.

The ruling military council had previously reassured the public that it was only a temporary issue, but the emergency has continued.

Last week, the US Embassy in Bamako announced that secondary diplomatic employees and their relatives would depart Mali amid the worsening fuel shortage and increasing security concerns.

It said that the petroleum supply issues had impacted the power distribution and had the “capacity to affect” the broader protection environment in unpredictable ways.

Mali is presently governed by a army council under the leadership of Gen Assimi Goïta, who seized power in a takeover in recently.

The junta had popular support when it came to authority, vowing to deal with the long-running security crisis triggered by a separatist rebellion in the north by the Tuareg population, which was then co-opted by jihadist fighters.

The international UN troops and European soldiers had been stationed in previously to address the increasing militant activity.

These forces have departed since the junta took over, and the military government has employed Russian mercenaries to combat the instability.

Nonetheless, the Islamist rebellion has persisted and extensive regions of the north and east of the nation remain not under administrative command.