People gather at a gas station due to shortage of petrol in Bamako, Mali, earlier this month.

The U.S. State Department on Thursday ordered non-emergency employees and their family members to leave Mali due to safety risks, as the government there comes under increasing pressure from al Qaeda-linked insurgents, who are imposing a fuel blockade .

“The Department of State ordered non-emergency employees and their family members to leave Mali due to safety risks,” the State Department said in an updated travel advisory.

Last week, the State Department authorized the departure of non-emergency personnel, and on Tuesday it warned Americans in Mali to leave the country immediately. The travel advisory level for Mali is Level 4, or “do not travel.”

In early September, Jama’at Nusrat al-Isla

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