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Mali has temporarily halted schools and universities throughout the country due to a severe fuel scarcity caused by a embargo on petroleum supplies enforced by militant groups.

Minister of Education declared on national broadcast that all academic facilities would stay shut until the ninth of November, noting that the travel of employees and learners had been impacted by the restrictions.

He asserted that the authorities were “doing everything possible” to resolve the emergency so that educational activities could continue on 10 November.

For several weeks, the nation has been facing a energy deficit, especially in the capital Bamako, after militants from an al-Qaeda affiliate imposed a blockade by attacking tankers on key routes.

The country is without coastal access, so all fuel supplies are transported by road from neighboring states such as Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.

Long queues have been snaking around petrol stations in the capital in recent weeks, and the city's normally bustling streets have now apparently fallen quiet.

The military government had earlier this month assured residents that it was only a passing concern, but the crisis has endured.

Last week, the United States diplomatic office in Bamako announced that secondary diplomatic employees and their families would evacuate Mali amid the deteriorating energy crisis and growing protection worries.

It said that the petroleum supply issues had affected the energy availability and had the “potential to disrupt” the overall security situation in unexpected forms.

Mali is presently governed by a armed forces administration under the leadership of the military leader, who took control in a takeover in recently.

The ruling council had public backing when it assumed control, vowing to address the long-running security crisis triggered by a autonomy movement in the northern territories by Tuareg communities, which was then taken over by Islamist militants.

The UN peacekeeping mission and European soldiers had been stationed in previously to address the growing rebellion.

The international troops have departed since the junta took over, and the ruling council has hired private military contractors to tackle the insecurity.

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