Mali Closes Schools and Higher Education Centers as Islamist Militant Blockade Exacerbates Petrol Crisis
Mali has closed schools and universities throughout the country due to a acute energy crisis caused by a restriction on petroleum supplies implemented by Islamist insurgents.
Minister of Education declared on national broadcast that all academic facilities would be inactive until November 9th, explaining that the movement of employees and learners had been disrupted by the blockade.
He emphasized that the authorities were “doing everything possible” to end the emergency so that educational activities could continue on November 10th.
For a number of weeks, Mali has been facing a energy deficit, notably in the main city, after insurgents from an al-Qaeda-linked organization imposed a blockade by attacking transport vehicles on primary roads.
Mali is surrounded by land, so all fuel supplies are transported by road from adjacent nations such as Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.
Long queues have been snaking around petrol stations in the capital in the past few weeks, and the city's usually crowded streets have now apparently fallen quiet.
The ruling military council had earlier this month reassured citizens that it was only a passing concern, but the crisis has continued.
In the past few days, the US Embassy in the capital stated that non-critical embassy personnel and their relatives would leave Mali amid the worsening energy crisis and increasing protection worries.
It explained that the petroleum supply issues had affected the energy availability and had the “capacity to affect” the broader protection environment in unpredictable ways.
The West African nation is now led by a army council under the leadership of Gen Assimi Goïta, who assumed authority in a takeover in 2021.
The military government had popular support when it assumed control, committing to address the ongoing instability caused by a independence uprising in the north by the Tuareg population, which was then co-opted by extremist groups.
The UN peacekeeping mission and France's military had been stationed in 2013 to combat the growing rebellion.
These forces have left since the junta took over, and the ruling council has hired foreign fighters to address the violence.
Nevertheless, the Islamist rebellion has endured and large parts of the northern and eastern territories of the state remain outside government control.
