France, Nov. 14 -- Between May and October the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims - known by its Arabic acronym JNIM - has captured Chinese, Indian, Egyptian, Emirati, Iranian, Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian nationals, according to the NGO ACLED, which tracks violence in conflict zones worldwide.

Some have since been released, but not all. ACLED says that it does not have sufficiently verified information to provide figures on releases, particularly in the case of Chinese and Indian nationals.

Heni Nsaibia, senior West Africa analyst atACLED, told RFI that the number of people who have been captured is "almost double the previous record of 2022," when 13 foreigners were kidnapped.

JNIM has made kidnapping wealthy foreigners for ...