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Five Indian nationals working on electrification projects in Mali were kidnapped by gunmen near Kobri in the country’s west, a company official and a security source confirmed on Friday.According to the security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the abduction took place on Thursday as armed men intercepted the workers’ convoy. “We confirm the kidnapping of five Indian nationals,” a representative of the company told AFP.The official added that the remaining Indian employees of the firm have been evacuated to Bamako, the Malian capital, as a precautionary measure.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the abduction. The incident comes as Mali, under military rule since a series of coups, continues to battle rising insecurity and violence from jihadist organisations linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.The deteriorating security climate has deepened Mali’s economic woes, with the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) enforcing a crippling fuel blockade in recent months.Kidnappings of foreign nationals remain frequent in the country, which has faced ongoing instability since 2012. In September, JNIM jihadists abducted two Emirati citizens and an Iranian near Bamako. The trio were released last week after a ransom payment reportedly exceeding $50 million, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.