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Mali has closed schools and universities throughout the country due to a acute fuel scarcity triggered by a blockade on petroleum supplies imposed by militant groups.

Top education official stated on public media that all education institutions would remain closed until the ninth of November, noting that the transportation of employees and pupils had been impacted by the imposed limitations.

He stated that the authorities were “working tirelessly” to resolve the crisis so that academic sessions could restart on 10 November.

For weeks, Mali has been experiencing a energy deficit, particularly in the administrative center, after militants from an al-Qaeda affiliate initiated a blockade by attacking tankers on key routes.

Mali is surrounded by land, so all petroleum products are transported by road from neighboring states such as its western neighbor and Ivory Coast.

Lengthy waits have been winding around petrol stations in the main city in the last several days, and the city's usually crowded streets have now allegedly fallen quiet.

The ruling military council had earlier this month assured residents that it was only a temporary issue, but the situation has continued.

In the past few days, the United States diplomatic office in Bamako declared that non-critical embassy personnel and their dependents would leave Mali amid the deteriorating fuel shortage and escalating safety issues.

It noted that the petroleum supply issues had disrupted the supply of electricity and had the “capacity to affect” the overall security situation in unexpected forms.

Mali is now led by a armed forces administration led by the military leader, who seized power in a coup in 2021.

The military government had widespread approval when it came to authority, committing to tackle the long-running security crisis caused by a separatist rebellion in the north by the Tuareg population, which was then co-opted by jihadist fighters.

The UN peacekeeping mission and European soldiers had been sent in 2013 to combat the growing rebellion.

These forces have left since the military assumed power, and the military government has hired private military contractors to tackle the violence.

Nonetheless, the militant uprising has persisted and significant areas of the northern and eastern territories of the country remain outside government control.