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The landlocked West African country has temporarily halted schools and higher learning institutions across the nation due to a critical energy crisis resulting from a embargo on fuel imports imposed by jihadist fighters.

Minister of Education stated on public media that all learning centers would remain closed until November 9th, noting that the movement of personnel and pupils had been impacted by the imposed limitations.

He emphasized that the authorities were “working tirelessly” to end the emergency so that academic sessions could continue on 10 November.

For several weeks, Mali has been facing a energy deficit, especially in the main city, after armed groups from an al-Qaeda-linked organization initiated a embargo by striking fuel trucks on key routes.

The country is landlocked, so all petroleum products are delivered by truck from adjacent nations such as Senegal and the neighboring nation.

Lengthy waits have been winding around petrol stations in Bamako in recent weeks, and the city's usually crowded streets have now reportedly become deserted.

The military government had in recent days promised residents that it was only a passing concern, but the crisis has persisted.

In the past few days, the United States diplomatic office in Bamako announced that secondary diplomatic employees and their families would leave the country amid the intensifying energy crisis and growing security concerns.

It noted that the petroleum supply issues had affected the energy availability and had the “potential to disrupt” the broader protection environment in unexpected forms.

The West African nation is now led by a military junta led by Gen Assimi Goïta, who seized power in a military overthrow in recently.

The junta had widespread approval when it took power, promising to deal with the ongoing instability prompted by a separatist rebellion in the north by ethnic Tuaregs, which was then hijacked by jihadist fighters.

The international UN troops and French forces had been deployed in a decade ago to combat the growing rebellion.

The international troops have departed since the junta took over, and the ruling council has contracted foreign fighters to combat the instability.

Nevertheless, the militant uprising has endured and large parts of the northern and eastern territories of the country remain not under administrative command.