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Mali has suspended educational facilities and universities countrywide due to a severe petrol shortage caused by a blockade on energy resources implemented by jihadist fighters.

Minister of Education stated on national broadcast that all learning centers would be inactive until the ninth of November, clarifying that the movement of staff and pupils had been impacted by the restrictions.

He emphasized that the authorities were “making every effort” to end the situation so that academic sessions could continue on the tenth of November.

For weeks, the nation has been grappling with a fuel shortage, notably in the capital Bamako, after insurgents from an al-Qaeda-linked organization initiated a embargo by striking fuel trucks on major highways.

Mali is without coastal access, so all fuel supplies are transported by truck from bordering countries such as its western neighbor and Ivory Coast.

Lengthy waits have been snaking around petrol stations in the capital in the last several days, and the city's normally bustling streets have now reportedly fallen quiet.

The ruling military council had previously reassured residents that it was only a passing concern, but the emergency has continued.

Last week, the US Embassy in the capital stated that non-essential diplomatic staff and their dependents would evacuate Mali amid the worsening petrol scarcity and increasing protection worries.

It noted that the energy interruptions had affected the power distribution and had the “potential to disrupt” the overall security situation in unpredictable ways.

Mali is now led by a army council headed by Gen Assimi Goïta, who seized power in a military overthrow in recently.

The ruling council had widespread approval when it took power, vowing to tackle the ongoing instability caused by a independence uprising in the north by the Tuareg population, which was then co-opted by extremist groups.

The international UN troops and European soldiers had been stationed in a decade ago to combat the increasing militant activity.

These forces have withdrawn since the new administration came in, and the military government has employed foreign fighters to combat the instability.

Nonetheless, the Islamist rebellion has endured and extensive regions of the northern and eastern territories of the state remain not under administrative command.