Inside Mali's Crisis: How Al-Qaeda's JNIM Uses $50 Million Ransoms and Kidnappings to Destabilize the Government

Nov 13, 2025 05:39 pm CST

The Al-Qaeda affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) has intensified its "economic jihad" in Mali, collecting a record $50 million ransom for an Emirati sheikh while systematically kidnapping foreign nationals and blocking fuel supplies. This strategy aims to collapse Mali's economy, scare away international investors, and ultimately overthrow the struggling military junta to impose Islamic law across the region.