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Mali has closed schools and universities countrywide due to a critical energy crisis caused by a embargo on petroleum supplies imposed by Islamist insurgents.

Minister of Education announced on national broadcast that all education institutions would remain closed until the ninth of November, clarifying that the transportation of staff and learners had been disrupted by the restrictions.

He emphasized that the administration were “working tirelessly” to alleviate the emergency so that academic sessions could continue on the tenth of November.

For weeks, Mali has been facing a petrol crisis, notably in the main city, after militants from an al-Qaeda affiliate imposed a restriction by attacking fuel trucks on key routes.

The country is surrounded by land, so all energy resources are delivered by truck from adjacent nations such as its western neighbor and Côte d'Ivoire.

Extended lines have been snaking around gas pumps in the main city in the last several days, and the city's typically busy streets have now apparently fallen quiet.

The ruling military council had in recent days reassured citizens that it was only a temporary issue, but the crisis has persisted.

Recently, the United States diplomatic office in Bamako stated that non-essential diplomatic staff and their dependents would leave the country amid the worsening petrol scarcity and growing security concerns.

It noted that the fuel disruptions had disrupted the supply of electricity and had the “potential to disrupt” the broader protection environment in unpredictable ways.

The West African nation is currently ruled by a army council led by Gen Assimi Goïta, who assumed authority in a military overthrow in recently.

The junta had public backing when it came to authority, promising to tackle the long-running security crisis caused by a autonomy movement in the northern territories by Tuareg communities, which was then hijacked by extremist groups.

The international UN troops and French forces had been deployed in a decade ago to combat the increasing militant activity.

Both have withdrawn since the junta took over, and the ruling council has contracted foreign fighters to tackle the instability.

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