Two Emiratis and an Iranian were kidnapped near Mali's capital over the past week by armed individuals, officials told AFP, as the restive west African country grapples with insecurity.
Violence by groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group as well as separatist movements and criminal gangs has plunged the junta-led country into a deep crisis.
"Two Emiratis and one Iranian were kidnapped this week about fifty kilometres (thirty miles) from Bamako by armed men", a Malian elected official who spoke on condition of anonymity told AFP.
It was not immediately clear from any of the officials AFP spoke with who was behind the abductions.
The elected official said the three had been on a farm that belonged to one of the kidnapped individuals.
A Malian security source who also spoke on condition of anonymity said that a search was under way and confirmed that the trio was abducted by armed men.
The two Emiratis, he said, were from Dubai.
A local councillor in the area of Sanankoroba where the incident took place told AFP Thursday that the kidnappers had burned equipment, including motorcycles.
Referring to the kidnapped property owner, the councillor said that "his disappearance is terrifying".
"We're even more afraid now that he's been kidnapped", the councillor said.
News of the kidnappings was shared in a government communique earlier Thursday, whose authenticity AFP journalists had confirmed with authorities, but the government later denied publication of the document and provided no further detail.
Since 2012, Mali has been locked in a violent security crisis, with large parts of the country falling prey to the criminal gangs and jihadists.
The country additionally underwent military coups in 2020 and 2021 and is ruled by a military junta, which has struggled to counter the groups.
(AFP)