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The landlocked West African country has closed schools and universities countrywide due to a critical fuel scarcity triggered by a embargo on energy resources implemented by militant groups.

Minister of Education announced on state television that all learning centers would be inactive until 9 November, noting that the movement of personnel and pupils had been disrupted by the blockade.

He stated that the administration were “working tirelessly” to resolve the emergency so that educational activities could resume on November 10th.

For several weeks, Mali has been facing a energy deficit, notably in the capital Bamako, after militants from an al-Qaeda affiliate initiated a restriction by striking transport vehicles on key routes.

Mali is landlocked, so all energy resources are transported by road from bordering countries such as its western neighbor and the neighboring nation.

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

The junta-led administration had previously reassured residents that it was only a temporary issue, but the situation has persisted.

In the past few days, the American diplomatic mission in Bamako stated that non-essential diplomatic staff and their families would depart the country amid the intensifying petrol scarcity and increasing security concerns.

It explained that the energy interruptions had impacted the supply of electricity and had the “ability to disturb” the broader protection environment in unpredictable ways.

The West African nation is currently ruled by a army council headed by General Goïta, who assumed authority in a coup in 2021.

The military government had public backing when it took power, committing to address the protracted safety emergency prompted by a autonomy movement in the northern region by Tuareg communities, which was then taken over by extremist groups.

The UN peacekeeping mission and European soldiers had been stationed in previously to address the growing rebellion.

These forces have departed since the junta took over, and the ruling council has employed Russian mercenaries to combat the instability.

However, the jihadist insurgency has endured and extensive regions of the northern and eastern zones of the nation remain not under administrative command.