The West African nation Closes Schools and Universities as Jihadist Blockade Worsens Fuel Emergency
Mali has closed schools and universities throughout the country due to a severe energy crisis caused by a embargo on energy resources implemented by militant groups.
Top education official stated on national broadcast that all education institutions would remain closed until November 9th, clarifying that the travel of staff and students had been affected by the restrictions.
He asserted that the administration were “making every effort” to resolve the emergency so that academic sessions could resume on 10 November.
For weeks, Mali has been facing a energy deficit, notably in the capital Bamako, after armed groups from an jihadist network initiated a blockade by striking tankers on major highways.
Mali is landlocked, so all energy resources are brought in by road from bordering countries such as its western neighbor and Côte d'Ivoire.
Lengthy waits have been snaking around gas pumps in the capital in the last several days, and the city's typically busy streets have now apparently grown silent.
The junta-led administration had earlier this month promised citizens that it was only a short-term problem, but the situation has endured.
Last week, the US Embassy in the capital announced that non-critical embassy personnel and their families would leave Mali amid the deteriorating fuel shortage and escalating safety issues.
It explained that the energy interruptions had disrupted the power distribution and had the “ability to disturb” the general safety conditions in unexpected forms.
Mali is presently governed by a military junta under the leadership of General Goïta, who seized power in a coup in 2021.
The junta had public backing when it came to authority, committing to deal with the ongoing instability prompted by a autonomy movement in the northern region by ethnic Tuaregs, which was then hijacked by jihadist fighters.
The United Nations stabilization force and French forces had been deployed in a decade ago to deal with the increasing militant activity.
The international troops have departed since the new administration came in, and the military government has hired Russian mercenaries to tackle the insecurity.
Nonetheless, the jihadist insurgency has persisted and large parts of the northern and eastern territories of the nation remain not under administrative command.
