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The landlocked West African country has closed educational facilities and universities across the nation due to a acute fuel scarcity triggered by a blockade on fuel imports enforced by jihadist fighters.

The Education Minister announced on public media that all education institutions would be inactive until the ninth of November, noting that the movement of staff and students had been impacted by the restrictions.

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

For a number of weeks, the nation has been facing a fuel shortage, particularly in the capital Bamako, after armed groups from an jihadist network initiated a embargo by striking tankers on major highways.

Mali is without coastal access, so all fuel supplies are transported by land routes from adjacent nations such as Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.

Extended lines have been winding around gas pumps in the main city in the last several days, and the city's typically busy streets have now allegedly grown silent.

The junta-led administration had in recent days reassured residents that it was only a passing concern, but the situation has continued.

Last week, the US Embassy in Bamako stated that non-essential diplomatic staff and their dependents would depart Mali amid the worsening energy crisis and escalating protection worries.

It explained that the petroleum supply issues had affected the energy availability and had the “capacity to affect” the broader protection environment in unexpected forms.

The West African nation is currently ruled by a military junta headed by Gen Assimi Goïta, who assumed authority in a military overthrow in recently.

The junta had widespread approval when it took power, committing to deal with the protracted safety emergency triggered by a independence uprising in the northern region by Tuareg communities, which was then co-opted by extremist groups.

The United Nations stabilization force and French forces had been stationed in a decade ago to deal with the escalating insurgency.

The international troops have left since the new administration came in, and the current administration has employed foreign fighters to combat the violence.

However, the jihadist insurgency has persisted and large parts of the northern and eastern territories of the nation remain outside government control.