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Mali has temporarily halted educational facilities and universities throughout the country due to a acute petrol shortage caused by a embargo on energy resources implemented by militant groups.

The Education Minister stated on national broadcast that all academic facilities would remain closed until November 9th, clarifying that the travel of staff and pupils had been affected by the blockade.

He asserted that the administration were “making every effort” to end the crisis so that classes could continue on the tenth of November.

For several weeks, Mali has been grappling with a fuel shortage, notably in the main city, after insurgents from an jihadist network initiated a blockade by striking fuel trucks on key routes.

The country is without coastal access, so all energy resources are delivered by land routes from adjacent nations such as its western neighbor and Ivory Coast.

Extended lines have been forming around gas pumps in the main city in recent weeks, and the city's usually crowded streets have now allegedly become deserted.

The military government had previously promised residents that it was only a short-term problem, but the crisis has continued.

Last week, the American diplomatic mission in Bamako declared that non-essential diplomatic staff and their dependents would leave Mali amid the worsening fuel shortage and growing protection worries.

It said that the energy interruptions had affected the power distribution and had the “ability to disturb” the overall security situation in unexpected forms.

The West African nation is currently ruled by a army council under the leadership of the military leader, who took control in a military overthrow in 2021.

The military government had popular support when it came to authority, committing to tackle the long-running security crisis caused by a separatist rebellion in the northern territories by Tuareg communities, which was then taken over by Islamist militants.

The international UN troops and European soldiers had been deployed in previously to combat the escalating insurgency.

These forces have left since the military assumed power, and the ruling council has hired Russian mercenaries to tackle the instability.

Nevertheless, the Islamist rebellion has continued and large parts of the north and east of the country remain outside government control.