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The landlocked West African country has closed educational facilities and colleges throughout the country due to a critical fuel scarcity triggered by a embargo on petroleum supplies imposed by jihadist fighters.

Top education official declared on state television that all education institutions would stay shut until November 9th, clarifying that the movement of employees and learners had been impacted by the blockade.

He emphasized that the authorities were “making every effort” to resolve the emergency so that academic sessions could continue on November 10th.

For several weeks, the nation has been facing a fuel shortage, especially in the administrative center, after armed groups from an al-Qaeda-linked organization imposed a blockade by attacking tankers on major highways.

Mali is without coastal access, so all energy resources are brought in by road from neighboring states such as its western neighbor and the neighboring nation.

Long queues have been winding around petrol stations in Bamako in the past few weeks, and the city's normally bustling streets have now apparently grown silent.

The military government had earlier this month reassured the public that it was only a short-term problem, but the emergency has continued.

Last week, the United States diplomatic office in Bamako announced that non-critical embassy personnel and their families would leave Mali amid the deteriorating petrol scarcity and growing security concerns.

It noted that the fuel disruptions had affected the energy availability and had the “capacity to affect” the overall security situation in unexpected forms.

The West African nation is presently governed by a army council headed by Gen Assimi Goïta, who assumed authority in a coup in two years ago.

The junta had public backing when it came to authority, committing to tackle the long-running security crisis caused by a autonomy movement in the northern region by the Tuareg population, which was then hijacked by Islamist militants.

The United Nations stabilization force and French forces had been deployed in 2013 to address the increasing militant activity.

The international troops have withdrawn since the military assumed power, and the current administration has employed foreign fighters to combat the instability.

However, the jihadist insurgency has persisted and large parts of the northern and eastern territories of the country remain not under administrative command.