Mali’s schools reopen despite jihadist blockade

Classes gradually resumed on Monday in Bamako and several other Malian cities following a two-week pause due to fuel shortages from a jihadist blockade, according to local sources contacted by AFP. Since September, jihadists from JNIM, the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, have imposed a fuel blockade on Mali, creating a […]

Classes gradually resumed on Monday in Bamako and several other Malian cities following a two-week pause due to fuel shortages from a jihadist blockade, according to local sources contacted by AFP.

Since September, jihadists from JNIM, the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, have imposed a fuel blockade on Mali, creating a crisis for its ruling military junta.

The group is targeting fuel tankers coming primarily from Senegal and the Ivory Coast, through which the majority of the country’s imported goods transit.

Mali’s junta suspended school and university classes two weeks ago as the landlocked Sahelian country’s economy slid into paralysis.

On Friday, the Ministry of Education announced that schools and universities would reopen on Monday.

“Classes have resumed in Bamako. In our school, the students are all present as well as the teachers,” a union official in the capital told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the security situation.

Several fuel convoys have made it through to the capital and other blockaded areas in recent days, easing pressure on the population and government.

While classes resumed in Bamako and several other cities, teachers in many rural areas were still absent due to a lack of fuel to reach their posts.

In the town of Dioila, 160 kilometres (100 miles) east of Bamako, “classes have resumed only in the town itself”, a teacher told AFP.

“Classes are not being held in the surrounding villages, however. There is still a fuel shortage,” the teacher added.

In Segou, a city in south-central Mali, “classes have resumed in several schools despite the difficulties”, a teacher told AFP, pointing out that electricity is only available a few hours a day.