The West African nation Closes Schools and Universities as Jihadist Blockade Worsens Petrol Crisis

Long queues at petrol stations in Mali
Extended lines have been snaking around fuel pumps in recent weeks

The landlocked West African country has closed schools and colleges countrywide due to a acute fuel scarcity caused by a embargo on fuel imports enforced by militant groups.

Top education official stated on public media that all learning centers would stay shut until the ninth of November, clarifying that the travel of employees and students had been affected by the blockade.

He emphasized that the administration were “working tirelessly” to resolve the situation so that classes could resume on the tenth of November.

For several weeks, the nation has been experiencing a petrol crisis, particularly in the capital Bamako, after armed groups from an jihadist network enforced a embargo by striking transport vehicles on primary roads.

The country is without coastal access, so all energy resources are transported by land routes from adjacent nations such as Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.

Extended lines have been snaking around fuel outlets in the main city in the past few weeks, and the city's usually crowded streets have now reportedly fallen quiet.

The ruling military council had previously reassured citizens that it was only a temporary issue, but the crisis has endured.

Last week, the US Embassy in the capital announced that secondary diplomatic employees and their relatives would depart the country amid the worsening petrol scarcity and escalating security concerns.

It explained that the petroleum supply issues had disrupted the energy availability and had the “potential to disrupt” the general safety conditions in unforeseen manners.

The West African nation is presently governed by a armed forces administration led by the military leader, who took control in a coup in recently.

The junta had public backing when it came to authority, committing to address the long-running security crisis triggered by a autonomy movement in the northern territories by ethnic Tuaregs, which was then co-opted by jihadist fighters.

The international UN troops and France's military had been deployed in a decade ago to combat the escalating insurgency.

These forces have left since the military assumed power, and the current administration has contracted foreign fighters to tackle the insecurity.

Nonetheless, the jihadist insurgency has persisted and significant areas of the northern and eastern zones of the country remain outside government control.

Michael Roberts
Michael Roberts

Wildlife biologist and conservationist with a passion for sloth research and environmental advocacy.