On Thursday, November 6, 5 Indian nationals were abducted by unidentified gunmen in the West African country of Mali. This development comes amid severe turmoil in Mali as the Islamist terror group Al Qaeda closes in on the capital Bamako. Mali is now set to become the first country to be ruled by the terror group.
The workers were kidnapped near Kobri, in western Mali, AFP reported. The Indian workers were employed by a company that is working on electrification projects.
Following the kidnapping, the other workers of the company have been evacuated to the capital city of Bamako as efforts continue to rescue the 5 kidnapped Indians.
While no organisation has claimed responsibility for the abduction of the Indian workers, Mali is currently in a state of chaos due to various armed groups fighting the civil war.
Al Qaeda and its affiliates are rapidly gaining ground in the country and are closing in on the capital Bamako. If they succeed in capturing Bamako, Mali will become the first ever country to be ruled by Al Qaeda.
Earlier, Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) had kidnapped 2 Emiratis and an Iranian in September this year. They were eventually released after a payment of $50 Million.
However, no such ransom demand has been made as of yet in the case of kidnapping of Indian workers.
