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Mali has temporarily halted educational facilities and colleges countrywide due to a critical petrol shortage caused by a embargo on fuel imports imposed by Islamist insurgents.

Top education official stated on state television that all learning centers would remain closed until November 9th, explaining that the transportation of staff and pupils had been disrupted by the blockade.

He emphasized that the authorities were “making every effort” to alleviate the situation so that educational activities could resume on November 10th.

For several weeks, Mali has been facing a fuel shortage, notably in the capital Bamako, after armed groups from an al-Qaeda affiliate imposed a blockade by striking tankers on major highways.

The country is landlocked, so all fuel supplies are transported by truck from neighboring states such as Senegal and Ivory Coast.

Extended lines have been forming around petrol stations in the capital in the last several days, and the city's typically busy streets have now reportedly grown silent.

The military government had earlier this month promised residents that it was only a short-term problem, but the emergency has persisted.

Last week, the US Embassy in Bamako announced that non-critical embassy personnel and their families would evacuate Mali amid the worsening petrol scarcity and increasing safety issues.

It said that the petroleum supply issues had impacted the power distribution and had the “capacity to affect” the general safety conditions in unforeseen manners.

The West African nation is presently governed by a armed forces administration led by the military leader, who seized power in a military overthrow in recently.

The junta had popular support when it assumed control, committing to address the protracted safety emergency caused by a autonomy movement in the northern territories by Tuareg communities, which was then co-opted by extremist groups.

The international UN troops and France's military had been deployed in previously to deal with the growing rebellion.

These forces have departed since the junta took over, and the ruling council has contracted foreign fighters to combat the insecurity.

However, the jihadist insurgency has continued and significant areas of the northern and eastern territories of the country remain outside government control.