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The landlocked West African country has suspended schools and universities across the nation due to a acute petrol shortage caused by a restriction on petroleum supplies implemented by Islamist insurgents.

Top education official stated on national broadcast that all academic facilities would remain closed until the ninth of November, explaining that the travel of personnel and learners had been impacted by the imposed limitations.

He stated that the government officials were “working tirelessly” to resolve the situation so that academic sessions could resume on 10 November.

For a number of weeks, Mali has been facing a petrol crisis, particularly in the main city, after armed groups from an al-Qaeda-linked organization initiated a blockade by targeting fuel trucks on primary roads.

The country is surrounded by land, so all energy resources are transported by truck from bordering countries such as Senegal and Ivory Coast.

Long queues have been snaking around petrol stations 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 previously assured residents that it was only a passing concern, but the crisis has continued.

In the past few days, the American diplomatic mission in Bamako announced that non-critical embassy personnel and their relatives would leave the country amid the worsening petrol scarcity and escalating safety issues.

It noted that the petroleum supply issues had disrupted the supply of electricity and had the “capacity to affect” the general safety conditions in unexpected forms.

Mali is presently governed by a military junta headed by the military leader, who seized power in a coup in two years ago.

The military government had public backing when it took power, committing to deal with the ongoing instability caused by a autonomy movement in the north by the Tuareg population, which was then co-opted by extremist groups.

The United Nations stabilization force and France's military had been stationed in previously to combat the escalating insurgency.

These forces have left since the junta took over, and the military government has hired foreign fighters to tackle the violence.

However, the jihadist insurgency has persisted and extensive regions of the north and east of the state remain outside government control.