Mali shuts schools as fuel blockade imposed by fighters paralyses country

The landlocked nation continues to suffer from the effects of a crippling blockade on fuel imports that an armed group imposed in September, according to Mali’s military government, which has announced that all public schools and universities will be closed for two weeks.

Amadou Sy Savane, the minister of education, stated on Sunday that the school staff’s movement was being impacted by “disruptions in fuel supplies.”

Authorities “doing everything possible” to restore normal fuel supplies before classes resume on November 10th, he added.

The Interministerial Committee for Crisis and Disaster Management stated in a separate statement that fuel supplies will be subject to “further notice,” with special emphasis given to “emergency, assistance, and public transportation vehicles.”

The Jama’at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), one of the several operating in the Sahel, has imposed a ban on fuel imported from neighboring nations for almost two months.

The al-Qaeda affiliate has since been pursuing fuel tankers, mostly from Senegal and the Ivory Coast, where the majority of imported goods pass through.

The initial reaction to the ban on selling fuel outside rural stations, where fuel is transported in jerry cans to be sold later, was deemed by JNIM to be a retaliatory measure. Authorities in Italy claimed the measure was meant to shut off JNIM’s supply lines.

Endless lines

The blockade has stifled Mali’s fragile economy, which has had an impact on the cost of transportation and commodities in a nation that relies on domestic fuel imports.

The capital, Bamako, where endless lines line up in front of gas stations, is also affected by it.

For more than a decade, Mali and neighboring Burkinabe have battled armed groups, some of which are affiliated with al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS), as well as local rebels.

The new ruling party has recently ordered military coups to be held in all three countries, with little regard for the impact on whether or not it had had on French forces.