Mali has shut down schools and universities across the country beginning Sunday due to a severe fuel shortage caused by a blockade on fuel imports imposed by jihadi militants.
Education Minister Amadou Sy Savane announced on state television that classes would be suspended for two weeks “due to disruptions in fuel supplies that are affecting the movement of school staff.”
Militants from the al-Qaida-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin group declared a ban on fuel imports from neighboring countries into Mali in early September. The restriction has further strained the landlocked nation’s fragile economy, leaving hundreds of fuel trucks stranded at border points.
Mali, alongside neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger, continues to battle insurgencies from armed groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State, as well as local rebels.
After military coups in all three countries in recent years, they expelled French forces and turned to Russian mercenary groups for security help, a shift analysts say has shown little improvement.
In the capital, Bamako, long queues have formed at gas stations as the fuel shortage drives up prices for transportation and goods. For a nation heavily dependent on imported fuel, the blockade represents a major setback for Mali’s ruling junta, which seized power in 2020 claiming it would restore stability.
The Malian military has attempted to escort some fuel trucks from border areas to Bamako. While a few made it through, others came under militant attacks.The education minister assured citizens that the government was “doing everything
