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Mali has temporarily halted schools and universities throughout the country due to a severe petrol shortage caused by a restriction on energy resources implemented by militant groups.

The Education Minister declared on state television that all academic facilities would remain closed until November 9th, noting that the travel of staff and pupils had been impacted by the restrictions.

He emphasized that the government officials were “working tirelessly” to resolve the emergency so that classes could continue on 10 November.

For a number of weeks, the nation has been grappling with a energy deficit, particularly in the main city, after armed groups from an al-Qaeda-linked organization imposed a blockade by striking fuel trucks on primary roads.

Mali is surrounded by land, so all energy resources are brought in by truck from neighboring states such as its western neighbor and Ivory Coast.

Lengthy waits have been winding around petrol stations in Bamako in the last several days, and the city's usually crowded streets have now apparently become deserted.

The ruling military council had in recent days reassured the public that it was only a short-term problem, but the emergency has continued.

Last week, the American diplomatic mission in Bamako declared that non-critical embassy personnel and their families would evacuate the country amid the deteriorating petrol scarcity and growing security concerns.

It said that the energy interruptions had affected the energy availability and had the “potential to disrupt” the overall security situation in unforeseen manners.

The West African nation is now led by a armed forces administration under the leadership of Gen Assimi Goïta, who assumed authority in a takeover in 2021.

The military government had public backing when it took power, committing to tackle the protracted safety emergency prompted by a autonomy movement in the north by Tuareg communities, which was then hijacked by Islamist militants.

The international UN troops and French forces had been sent in a decade ago to deal with the escalating insurgency.

The international troops have withdrawn since the new administration came in, and the current administration has contracted foreign fighters to combat the violence.

Nevertheless, the jihadist insurgency has endured and large parts of the north and east of the state remain outside government control.