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Mali has temporarily halted schools and universities countrywide due to a acute energy crisis resulting from a blockade on energy resources enforced by jihadist fighters.

Minister of Education stated on public media that all academic facilities would remain closed until the ninth of November, noting that the travel of personnel and students had been impacted by the restrictions.

He asserted that the authorities were “doing everything possible” to end the emergency so that educational activities could continue on the tenth of November.

For weeks, Mali has been experiencing a petrol crisis, especially in the capital Bamako, after militants from an al-Qaeda affiliate imposed a restriction by striking transport vehicles on primary roads.

Mali is without coastal access, so all energy resources are transported by truck from neighboring states such as its western neighbor and Ivory Coast.

Extended lines have been winding around petrol stations in the main city in the last several days, and the city's usually crowded streets have now reportedly become deserted.

The military government had previously assured residents that it was only a temporary issue, but the crisis has continued.

Last week, the American diplomatic mission in the capital declared that secondary diplomatic employees and their dependents would leave Mali amid the worsening energy crisis and increasing security concerns.

It explained that the energy interruptions had disrupted the power distribution and had the “ability to disturb” the general safety conditions in unpredictable ways.

Mali is now led by a army council led by the military leader, who seized power in a military overthrow in 2021.

The ruling council had public backing when it took power, committing to tackle the ongoing instability caused by a autonomy movement in the north by Tuareg communities, which was then co-opted by jihadist fighters.

The UN peacekeeping mission and France's military had been stationed in a decade ago to combat the escalating insurgency.

Both have left since the military assumed power, and the current administration has contracted foreign fighters to address the instability.

Nevertheless, the jihadist insurgency has continued and extensive regions of the north and east of the nation remain not under administrative command.