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Mali has closed schools and colleges throughout the country due to a acute fuel scarcity triggered by a blockade on energy resources implemented by militant groups.

Minister of Education declared on national broadcast that all academic facilities would stay shut until the ninth of November, noting that the transportation of employees and students had been impacted by the imposed limitations.

He stated that the government officials were “working tirelessly” to end the situation so that classes could restart on 10 November.

For a number of weeks, Mali has been grappling with a petrol crisis, notably in the main city, after militants from an al-Qaeda-linked organization enforced a restriction by striking fuel trucks on primary roads.

The country is surrounded by land, so all energy resources are delivered by road from neighboring states such as Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.

Lengthy waits have been snaking around fuel outlets in the main city in the past few weeks, and the city's usually crowded streets have now allegedly grown silent.

The military government had earlier this month assured the public that it was only a passing concern, but the crisis has persisted.

Last week, the United States diplomatic office in the capital declared that non-essential diplomatic staff and their families would depart the country amid the worsening fuel shortage and increasing safety issues.

It explained that the fuel disruptions had affected the supply of electricity and had the “ability to disturb” the broader protection environment in unpredictable ways.

Mali is currently ruled by a military junta led by Gen Assimi Goïta, who assumed authority in a takeover in 2021.

The military government had popular support when it assumed control, vowing to deal with the long-running security crisis triggered by a independence uprising in the northern region by the Tuareg population, which was then hijacked by extremist groups.

The international UN troops and France's military had been sent in 2013 to deal with the growing rebellion.

These forces have left since the new administration came in, and the current administration has hired private military contractors to tackle the insecurity.

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