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The landlocked West African country has suspended schools and higher learning institutions across the nation due to a severe petrol shortage caused by a blockade on fuel imports imposed by militant groups.

Minister of Education stated on state television that all academic facilities would remain closed until November 9th, explaining that the movement of personnel and learners had been affected by the restrictions.

He emphasized that the administration were “making every effort” to resolve the crisis so that academic sessions could restart on 10 November.

For several weeks, the nation has been grappling with a fuel shortage, especially in the capital Bamako, after insurgents from an al-Qaeda-linked organization initiated a embargo by striking transport vehicles on primary roads.

The country is surrounded by land, so all petroleum products are transported by truck from bordering countries such as Senegal and the neighboring nation.

Long queues have been snaking around petrol stations in Bamako in the last several days, and the city's normally bustling streets have now apparently fallen quiet.

The junta-led administration had previously reassured residents that it was only a passing concern, but the emergency has persisted.

In the past few days, the US Embassy in the capital announced that non-critical embassy personnel and their families would evacuate Mali amid the worsening petrol scarcity and growing security concerns.

It noted that the fuel disruptions had disrupted the supply of electricity and had the “potential to disrupt” the broader protection environment in unpredictable ways.

Mali is currently ruled by a military junta headed by General Goïta, who assumed authority in a coup in 2021.

The junta had popular support when it came to authority, promising to tackle the long-running security crisis prompted by a autonomy movement in the northern territories by ethnic Tuaregs, which was then hijacked by Islamist militants.

The UN peacekeeping mission and France's military had been deployed in previously to combat the increasing militant activity.

These forces have departed since the junta took over, and the military government has contracted foreign fighters to tackle the violence.

Nevertheless, the Islamist rebellion has persisted and large parts of the northern and eastern zones of the country remain outside government control.