5 men from Tamil Nadu abducted at gunpoint from Mali village by armed group

One of the Indian workers who escaped the attack spoke to Tamil media and said the incident took place at around 9 pm on Thursday. The worker, identified as Mohanraj, said a group of armed men arrived on motorcycles at their camp and began questioning the workers before taking them away at gunpoint. According to him, they spoke a mix of Arabic and English.

The Embassy of India in Bamako, the capital of Mali, confirmed the incident and said it was working closely with Malian authorities and the employing company to ensure the safe and early release of the workers. “The Embassy has been working closely with the Mali authorities and the company concerned to secure their safe release as quickly as possible,” it said in a statement.

Following the abduction, the remaining Indian employees at the site have been evacuated to Bamako for their safety.

Back in Tamil Nadu, the families of the abducted men have petitioned the Thoothukudi District Collector, urging both the state and Union governments to intervene. Karthikeyan Sivaseenadhipathi, chairman of the Tamil Nadu Non-Resident Welfare Board, said he has written to the External Affairs Ministry, seeking “urgent diplomatic measures for their rescue.

While no group has yet claimed responsibility for the abduction, Mali has long been facing insurgent attacks by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda–linked coalition that has targeted highways, convoys, and energy installations.