Mali has suspended schools and universities nationwide due to a severe fuel scarcity caused by a blockade on fuel imports imposed by Islamist insurgents.
Education Minister Amadou Sy Savane announced on state television that all educational institutions would remain shut until 9 November, explaining that the movement of staff and students had been significantly affected by the blockade. He added that the authorities were “doing everything possible” to end the crisis so that classes could resume on 10 November.
For weeks, Mali has been grappling with a fuel shortage, especially in the capital, Bamako, after militants from an al-Qaeda affiliate imposed a blockade by attacking tankers on major highways. Being a landlocked country, Mali relies on fuel supplies brought in by road from neighbouring states such as Senegal and Ivory Coast.
Long queues have been snaking around petrol stations in Bamako in recent weeks, and the city’s usually crowded streets have reportedly fallen quiet as a result of the scarcity. The military government had earlier this month assured residents that the shortage was only temporary, but the crisis has persisted.
Last week, the US Embassy in Bamako announced that non-essential diplomatic staff and their families would leave Mali amid the worsening fuel shortage and growing security concerns. The embassy stated that the fuel disruptions had affected the supply of electricity and posed the “potential to disrupt the overall security situation in unpredictable ways.”
Mali is currently ruled by a military junta led by General Assimi Goïta, who seized power in a coup in 2021. The junta initially enjoyed popular support, promising to address the long-running security crisis prompted by a separatist rebellion in the north by ethnic Tuaregs, which was subsequently hijacked by Islamist militants.
In 2013, both the UN peacekeeping mission and French forces were deployed to respond to the escalating insurgency. However, both have since withdrawn following the junta’s takeover, and the military government has since hired Russian mercenaries to tackle the insecurity.
Despite these efforts, the jihadist insurgency has continued, with large parts of the north and east of the country remaining outside government control.
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For more on this story and others from the African continent, visit [BBC Africa](https://www.bbc.com/africa) or listen to the [BBC Africa podcast](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02pk7wt).
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/mali-shuts-schools-universities-jihadist-081915009.html