U.S. slaps sanctions on militant groups in West Africa over hostage taking
The U.S. Treasury and State Departments have imposed sanctions on leaders of militant groups in West Africa over the taking of hostages, including American citizens in the region.
The sanctions were imposed on the leaders of the West African branch of al Qaeda, called Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), and another militant group, Al-Mourabitoun, as part of efforts by Washington to deter and punish detentions of U.S. citizens abroad.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the U.S. will not hesitate to employ the needed tools to bring home U.S. citizens held hostage abroad, and to deter future hostage-takings of citizens.
Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in the Treasury statement that “JNIM relies on hostage-taking and wrongful detention of civilians in order to gain leverage and instill fear, creating anguish and misery for the victims and their families.”
With the sanctions, the U.S. has frozen any of their U.S. assets and generally bars Americans from dealing with them.
Meanwhile, the US Treasury Department has also sanctioned two JNIM leaders centered in Mali and Burkina Faso, one of whom was accused of monitoring the detention of a US national.
