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Mali has temporarily halted schools and universities countrywide due to a severe petrol shortage triggered by a embargo on energy resources imposed by militant groups.

The Education Minister stated on national broadcast that all learning centers would stay shut until the ninth of November, clarifying that the transportation of staff and learners had been impacted by the restrictions.

He emphasized that the administration were “doing everything possible” to alleviate the crisis so that educational activities could resume on the tenth of November.

For several weeks, Mali has been experiencing a fuel shortage, notably in the capital Bamako, after militants from an al-Qaeda-linked organization imposed a restriction by attacking tankers on primary roads.

Mali is landlocked, so all energy resources are brought in by land routes from adjacent nations such as Senegal and the neighboring nation.

Long queues have been snaking around petrol stations in the main city in recent weeks, and the city's typically busy streets have now apparently become deserted.

The military government had previously assured the public that it was only a short-term problem, but the crisis has endured.

Recently, the American diplomatic mission in the capital declared that non-essential diplomatic staff and their families would evacuate the country amid the worsening energy crisis and increasing protection worries.

It noted that the petroleum supply issues had affected the power distribution and had the “potential to disrupt” the overall security situation in unexpected forms.

Mali is now led by a army council led by the military leader, who assumed authority in a military overthrow in 2021.

The military government had popular support when it came to authority, promising to tackle the protracted safety emergency caused by a independence uprising in the northern territories by Tuareg communities, which was then co-opted by jihadist fighters.

The United Nations stabilization force and France's military had been deployed in previously to deal with the increasing militant activity.

Both have departed since the military assumed power, and the ruling council has hired private military contractors to address the insecurity.

Nonetheless, the militant uprising has continued and large parts of the northern and eastern territories of the nation remain beyond state authority.