In the desert region of Gao, more than 1,000 kilometers from Bamako, three young migrant women – one Guinean and two Cameroonians – are being held by members of the terrorist group Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), affiliated with Al-Qaeda and active in northern and central Mali.

According to information gathered in Bamako, the three women were captured more than eight months ago, between Niger and Mali, in March 2025. Since then, they have been held in captivity and subjected to sexual exploitation.

According to several local sources, the kidnappers are in contact with the hostages' families, demanding ransom payments in exchange for their release. This information was confirmed by a young Cameroonian man recently released after his family paid the required sum.

This survivor, a former JNIM hostage, recounts that the three women were abducted while trying to reach Bamako from Niamey, the capital of Niger.

“They were returning from the Algerian desert, on the border with Niger, where buses full of sub-Saharan migrants had been intercepted and emptied of their passengers,” he confided.

According to him, these women survived terrible conditions in the desert before reaching Niamey, via the Agadez region. From there, they continued their journey to Bamako, hoping to then return to Guinea. But during their crossing of the Niger-Mali desert, they fell into the hands of armed men from JNIM in the Gao region.

The three migrant women are currently being held in separate tents and subjected to sexual abuse.

Another testimony, attributed to Mossad El Maghroubi, a former lieutenant of Iyad Ag Ghali from the wilaya of Mila (Algeria), confirms that the captives are “fed but closely watched”.

“They are not allowed to speak to the male prisoners. Their only contact with the outside world concerns ransom negotiations. Even for their hygiene needs, they are monitored. Some armed elements take advantage of this to abuse them without the knowledge of their leaders,” he reveals.

The kidnapping reportedly took place near Fafa, a town located between Labbezanga and Ansongo, on the Gao-Niamey road. The hostages are believed to be held in an isolated hamlet between the banks of the Niger River and the dunes of the Niger-Mali desert, an area controlled by armed groups.

According to the Cameroonian witness, it remains difficult to clearly identify the different terrorist factions active in this area.

“Even those who have been released don’t dare tell everything, for fear of reprisals. Many still live in terror,” he confides.

The families of the victims, supported by some tribal leaders close to JNIM, are currently trying to negotiate their release.