Foreigner Kidnappings are Fueling the Sahel Crisis.

On Tuesday, the 23rd of September last year, armed gunmen stormed a compound in the Kulakora region of Bali, about 40 kilometers from the capital, Bamako. There they abducted Sheikh Abed bin Maktoum bin Juma al Maktoum. It's a long-ass name, my dude.

A 78-year-old member of Dubai's ruling family. Two other men were taken with him, an Iranian and an Emirati. From multiple reports, the attack appears to have been precisely targeted at the victim carefully chosen because of his wealth and connections.

The group behind the raid was Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam Wal Muslanim, or JANIM, an al-Qaeda-affiliated insurgent group that has been wreaking havoc across much of the Sahel. They claimed responsibility for the attack shortly afterward, releasing a video of their fighters storming a hangar where the Sheikh kept small aircraft and hang gliders.