Rebels Do Blockade, Mali Alami Fuel Scarcity

Fuel crisis in Mali. (Twitter/@NaeemAslam23)

JAKARTA - Mali authorities suspended teaching and learning activities at schools and universities across the country for two weeks starting Monday due to fuel shortages, the government said, after insurgents affiliated with al-Qaeda imposed a blockade.

Militant Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) announced a blockade of fuel imports into the land-locked West African country in early September and has since attacked a convoy of fuel tanker trucks trying to enter the country or reach the capital.

The United States on Tuesday warned its citizens in Mali to leave the country using commercial flights as local governments came under increasing pressure from rebel groups.

"The continued infrastructure challenges in Mali include continued disruptions in gasoline and diesel supplies, closure of public institutions such as schools and universities across the country, and ongoing armed conflict between the Mali government and terrorist elements around Bamako, increasing the uncertainty of Bamako's security situation," the US Embassy in Mali said in a statement. a statement, reported by Reuters October 29.

Airports in Bamako remain open, the embassy said, suggesting its citizens to leave using commercial flights rather than travel overland to neighboring countries because of the risk of "terrorist attacks along national highways."

Meanwhile, US citizens who choose to stay in Mali must prepare an emergency plan, including to take shelter in place for a longer period of time, the statement said.

Earlier, the Mali Government on Sunday ordered the suspension of schools and universities across the country for two weeks due to fuel shortages.

Analysts described the fuel blockade as part of a military-led pressure campaign against the Mali Government by militant groups seeking to cut off the country's economic supply.

Several refueling stations in the capital Bamako have been closed. Unable to fill their tanks, residents were forced to walk, look for motorcycle taxis, or stay at home.

News of school closures followed an announcement on Friday that Russia would deliver between 160,000 and 200,000 metric tons of petroleum and agricultural products.