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Mali has closed schools and universities across the nation due to a critical energy crisis resulting from a embargo on petroleum supplies imposed by Islamist insurgents.

Top education official declared on public media that all education institutions would remain closed until 9 November, explaining that the movement of staff and pupils had been affected by the restrictions.

He emphasized that the authorities were “working tirelessly” to resolve the situation so that educational activities could restart on 10 November.

For several weeks, the nation has been grappling with a petrol crisis, notably in the capital Bamako, after armed groups from an jihadist network initiated a embargo by attacking tankers on primary roads.

Mali is surrounded by land, so all petroleum products are brought in by road from neighboring states such as Senegal and the neighboring nation.

Extended lines have been snaking around gas pumps in the main city in recent weeks, and the city's typically busy streets have now allegedly fallen quiet.

The military government had earlier this month reassured the public that it was only a temporary issue, but the situation has persisted.

In the past few days, the US Embassy in Bamako announced that non-critical embassy personnel and their families would depart Mali amid the intensifying petrol scarcity and increasing protection worries.

It noted that the petroleum supply issues had disrupted the energy availability and had the “ability to disturb” the overall security situation in unpredictable ways.

The West African nation is currently ruled by a army council headed by the military leader, who took control in a military overthrow in 2021.

The junta had public backing when it assumed control, vowing to tackle the protracted safety emergency triggered by a separatist rebellion in the northern region by Tuareg communities, which was then co-opted by extremist groups.

The international UN troops and France's military had been sent in a decade ago to combat the escalating insurgency.

The international troops have departed since the new administration came in, and the current administration has contracted private military contractors to tackle the insecurity.

Nonetheless, the militant uprising has continued and significant areas of the northern and eastern territories of the state remain not under administrative command.