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Mali has suspended schools and universities countrywide due to a severe fuel scarcity caused by a restriction on energy resources enforced by jihadist fighters.

The Education Minister announced on state television that all education institutions would stay shut until the ninth of November, clarifying that the travel of employees and pupils had been affected by the restrictions.

He stated that the government officials were “working tirelessly” to alleviate the emergency so that academic sessions could continue on November 10th.

For weeks, the nation has been facing a fuel shortage, especially in the capital Bamako, after armed groups from an al-Qaeda-linked organization imposed a restriction by attacking transport vehicles on major highways.

Mali is landlocked, so all energy resources are delivered by land routes from adjacent nations such as its western neighbor and the neighboring nation.

Lengthy waits have been forming around fuel outlets in the capital in recent weeks, and the city's typically busy streets have now reportedly become deserted.

The ruling military council had in recent days promised residents that it was only a passing concern, but the crisis has continued.

In the past few days, the American diplomatic mission in the capital declared that non-critical embassy personnel and their dependents would evacuate Mali amid the intensifying energy crisis and increasing protection worries.

It said that the petroleum supply issues had impacted the energy availability and had the “ability to disturb” the broader protection environment in unpredictable ways.

Mali is currently ruled by a army council led by the military leader, who took control in a military overthrow in recently.

The ruling council had widespread approval when it took power, vowing to address the ongoing instability 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 French forces had been sent in 2013 to address the growing rebellion.

The international troops have withdrawn since the new administration came in, and the ruling council has hired foreign fighters to tackle the insecurity.

Nevertheless, the militant uprising has persisted and large parts of the northern and eastern zones of the country remain not under administrative command.