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Mali has temporarily halted educational facilities and universities throughout the country due to a critical energy crisis triggered by a embargo on fuel imports enforced by jihadist fighters.

Top education official announced on national broadcast that all education institutions would remain closed until November 9th, clarifying that the movement of staff and pupils had been impacted by the restrictions.

He stated that the authorities were “working tirelessly” to end the situation so that educational activities could restart on the tenth of November.

For a number of weeks, Mali has been experiencing a petrol crisis, especially in the capital Bamako, after insurgents from an jihadist network enforced a restriction by targeting tankers on major highways.

Mali is surrounded by land, so all fuel supplies are brought in by road from neighboring states such as Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.

Long queues have been snaking around gas pumps in Bamako in the past few weeks, and the city's usually crowded streets have now apparently become deserted.

The ruling military council had earlier this month promised the public that it was only a passing concern, but the emergency has continued.

Recently, the American diplomatic mission in Bamako stated that secondary diplomatic employees and their dependents would depart the country amid the deteriorating petrol scarcity and increasing safety issues.

It said that the petroleum supply issues had affected the power distribution and had the “ability to disturb” the general safety conditions in unpredictable ways.

The West African nation is presently governed by a armed forces administration led by the military leader, who took control in a takeover in recently.

The military government had public backing when it took power, promising to deal with the ongoing instability caused by a separatist rebellion in the north by the Tuareg population, which was then co-opted by extremist groups.

The United Nations stabilization force and European soldiers had been stationed in previously to deal with the increasing militant activity.

These forces have left since the military assumed power, and the military government has employed foreign fighters to address the violence.

Nonetheless, the Islamist rebellion has persisted and extensive regions of the northern and eastern zones of the state remain beyond state authority.