đ Share this article The West African nation Suspends Educational Institutions and Universities as Islamist Militant Blockade Intensifies Fuel Emergency Prolonged lines have been appearing around fuel pumps in the last few days The landlocked West African country has suspended educational facilities and higher learning institutions countrywide due to a severe energy crisis triggered by a restriction on energy resources imposed by militant groups. Top education official announced on public media that all academic facilities would stay shut until November 9th, noting that the travel of staff and students had been impacted by the blockade. He emphasized that the authorities were âworking tirelesslyâ to alleviate the emergency so that classes could resume on 10 November. For a number of weeks, Mali has been grappling with a fuel shortage, particularly in the administrative center, after militants from an al-Qaeda affiliate initiated a blockade by targeting transport vehicles on major highways. The country is without coastal access, so all energy resources are delivered by land routes from neighboring states such as Senegal and the neighboring nation. Extended lines have been snaking around gas pumps in the capital in the last several days, and the city's typically busy streets have now apparently become deserted. The junta-led administration had earlier this month reassured the public that it was only a short-term problem, but the situation has endured. Last week, the United States diplomatic office in Bamako announced that non-critical embassy personnel and their families would depart Mali amid the worsening petrol scarcity and increasing security concerns. It noted that the petroleum supply issues had impacted the power distribution and had the âability to disturbâ the overall security situation in unexpected forms. The West African nation is presently governed by a military junta under the leadership of Gen Assimi GoĂŻta, who took control in a coup in 2021. The junta had public backing when it assumed control, promising to tackle the long-running security crisis triggered by a autonomy movement in the northern territories by ethnic Tuaregs, which was then co-opted by jihadist fighters. The international UN troops and French forces had been stationed in previously to combat the increasing militant activity. The international troops have withdrawn since the military assumed power, and the current administration has employed Russian mercenaries to tackle the instability. Nevertheless, the jihadist insurgency has continued and significant areas of the northern and eastern territories of the state remain outside government control.