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The landlocked West African country has closed educational facilities and colleges throughout the country due to a critical energy crisis triggered by a blockade on petroleum supplies implemented by militant groups.

The Education Minister stated on state television that all learning centers would remain closed until the ninth of November, clarifying that the travel of personnel and students had been impacted by the blockade.

He stated that the government officials were “working tirelessly” to end the situation so that classes could continue on the tenth of November.

For a number of weeks, Mali has been grappling with a fuel shortage, particularly in the administrative center, after armed groups from an al-Qaeda-linked organization initiated a restriction by striking tankers on major highways.

Mali is without coastal access, so all petroleum products are delivered by truck from bordering countries such as its western neighbor and Ivory Coast.

Lengthy waits have been snaking around gas pumps in the main city in the last several days, and the city's normally bustling streets have now reportedly become deserted.

The military government had in recent days assured citizens that it was only a short-term problem, but the situation has continued.

Last week, the US Embassy in the capital declared that non-critical embassy personnel and their families would leave the country amid the worsening fuel shortage and growing protection worries.

It explained that the energy interruptions had impacted the energy availability and had the “potential to disrupt” the overall security situation in unexpected forms.

Mali is now led by a military junta headed by Gen Assimi Goïta, who seized power in a takeover in two years ago.

The ruling council had public backing when it took power, vowing to deal with the long-running security crisis triggered by a autonomy movement in the northern region by Tuareg communities, which was then hijacked by extremist groups.

The international UN troops and France's military had been deployed in previously to combat the escalating insurgency.

These forces have departed since the new administration came in, and the military government has employed private military contractors to combat the instability.

However, the militant uprising has continued and significant areas of the northern and eastern zones of the nation remain outside government control.