Archive · 30 Oct 2025
Deal Reached to Free UAE Hostages in Mali
Bad guys who are part of a group in Mali called JNIM took two people from the UAE.
JNIM is a group that is linked to al Qaeda.
To get the two people back, the UAE paid the bad guys about $50 million.
This money helps the JNIM group keep doing its work.
The two people who were taken were expected to be flown back to the UAE.
JNIM sometimes kidnaps foreigners to get money.
They have done this before, releasing other people in August.
Mali has been dealing with groups like JNIM for a long time.
A deal has been reached to free two UAE citizens kidnapped in Mali by al Qaeda-linked insurgents.
The insurgent group, JNIM, received a ransom payment of approximately $50 million.
Sources indicated an Iranian hostage may have also been freed.
The freed hostages were expected to be flown to the UAE.
JNIM uses kidnapping of foreign nationals to fund its operations in West Africa.
- Who
- Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and two UAE citizens
- What
- A deal has been reached for the release of two UAE citizens kidnapped in Mali, with a ransom payment made to the insurgent group.
- When
- Sources spoke on Thursday.
- Where
- Mali
- Why
- JNIM uses kidnapping campaigns to finance its operations.
- Kidnappers
- Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al Qaeda-linked insurgent group
- Hostages
- Two UAE citizens
- Ransom Payment
- Approximately $50 million
- Location
- Mali