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The landlocked West African country has suspended schools and universities countrywide due to a critical fuel scarcity triggered by a embargo on petroleum supplies imposed by Islamist insurgents.

Minister of Education announced on state television that all learning centers would remain closed until the ninth of November, clarifying that the travel of staff and students had been affected by the blockade.

He stated that the authorities were “working tirelessly” to end the situation so that educational activities could continue on 10 November.

For several weeks, Mali has been grappling with a petrol crisis, particularly in the administrative center, after armed groups from an al-Qaeda affiliate imposed a restriction by striking tankers on major highways.

Mali is landlocked, so all energy resources are brought in by road from adjacent nations such as its western neighbor and Côte d'Ivoire.

Extended lines have been snaking around gas pumps in Bamako in the past few weeks, and the city's typically busy streets have now allegedly grown silent.

The ruling military council had in recent days reassured citizens that it was only a short-term problem, but the situation has continued.

Last week, the American diplomatic mission in Bamako announced that non-critical embassy personnel and their families would depart Mali amid the worsening petrol scarcity and escalating security concerns.

It explained that the fuel disruptions had impacted the power distribution and had the “capacity to affect” the broader protection environment in unpredictable ways.

Mali is now led by a army council under the leadership of General Goïta, who took control in a coup in 2021.

The junta had public backing when it took power, vowing to address the ongoing instability caused by a separatist rebellion in the north by Tuareg communities, which was then taken over by Islamist militants.

The UN peacekeeping mission and France's military had been sent in a decade ago to address the increasing militant activity.

Both have departed since the junta took over, and the current administration has hired foreign fighters to combat the insecurity.

However, the Islamist rebellion has continued and extensive regions of the northern and eastern territories of the country remain not under administrative command.