The West African nation Shuts Down Schools and Higher Education Centers as Jihadist Restrictions Worsens Petrol Crisis
The landlocked West African country has closed educational facilities and universities throughout the country due to a acute petrol shortage resulting from a restriction on fuel imports enforced by Islamist insurgents.
The Education Minister stated on national broadcast that all education institutions would stay shut until 9 November, explaining that the transportation of employees and students had been impacted by the imposed limitations.
He asserted that the authorities were “doing everything possible” to end the crisis so that academic sessions could restart on November 10th.
For a number of weeks, the nation has been experiencing a fuel shortage, particularly in the capital Bamako, after militants from an jihadist network enforced a restriction by targeting tankers on key routes.
Mali is surrounded by land, so all petroleum products are brought in by road from adjacent nations such as its western neighbor and Ivory Coast.
Lengthy waits have been forming around petrol stations in the main city in recent weeks, and the city's normally bustling streets have now apparently fallen quiet.
The military government had previously promised the public that it was only a passing concern, but the situation has persisted.
Recently, the American diplomatic mission in Bamako announced that non-essential diplomatic staff and their dependents would leave the country amid the intensifying fuel shortage and increasing security concerns.
It noted that the petroleum supply issues had disrupted the energy availability and had the “ability to disturb” the broader protection environment in unpredictable ways.
The West African nation is currently ruled by a army council headed by the military leader, who assumed authority in a takeover in two years ago.
The junta had public backing when it assumed control, promising to address the protracted safety emergency caused by a autonomy movement in the northern region by the Tuareg population, which was then co-opted by extremist groups.
The international UN troops and France's military had been stationed in previously to combat the increasing militant activity.
The international troops have withdrawn since the new administration came in, and the military government has hired foreign fighters to address the instability.
Nonetheless, the Islamist rebellion has endured and significant areas of the north and east of the state remain outside government control.
