SENEGAL, NOV 8 : Gunmen have kidnapped five Indian nationals in Mali, their company and a security source said Friday, as the west African country reels from mounting unrest and jihadist violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The workers were kidnapped Thursday by gunmen near Kobri, in western Mali, the security source told AFP on condition of anonymity, saying they were employed by a company that is working on electrification projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We confirm the kidnapping of five Indian nationals,” a company representative told AFP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The other Indians working for the company have been evacuated to Bamako,” the capital, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No group has claimed the kidnappings so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mali, currently ruled by a military junta, has been struggling to contain surging unrest blamed on criminal groups and jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The security situation has exacerbated an economic crisis in the impoverished country, where the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) has imposed a suffocating fuel blockade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kidnappings targeting foreigners are common in the country, which has been plagued by coups and conflicts since 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
JNIM jihadists kidnapped two Emirati nationals and an Iranian near Bamako in September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The victims were released last week for a ransom of at least $50 million, according to sources close to the negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-AFP<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SENEGAL, NOV 8 : Gunmen have kidnapped five Indian nationals in Mali, their company and a security source said Friday, as the west African country reels from mounting unrest and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":145178,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[348],"tags":[27906,27905],"class_list":["post-145177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news","tag-five-indian-nationals-kidnapped-in-mali","tag-senegal"],"yoast_head":"\n