Here at last is one answer to a question I have often asked: why are jihad groups so often better trained and better equipped than national armies in Africa? The UAE insists that it is unwavering in countering terrorism, but it must have known that this money would go for jihad. One of the reasons Islamic law stipulates for taking hostages involves collecting ransom money: “As for the captives, the amir [ruler] has the choice of taking the most beneficial action of four possibilities: the first to put them to death by cutting their necks; the second, to enslave them and apply the laws of slavery regarding their sale and manumission; the third, to ransom them in exchange for goods or prisoners; and fourth, to show favor to them and pardon them. Allah, may he be exalted, says, ‘When you encounter those [infidels] who deny [the Truth=Islam] then strike [their] necks’ (Qur’an sura 47, verse 4)” — Al-Mawardi, al-Ahkam as-Sultaniyyah (The Laws of Islamic Governance).
“A $50 million hostage ransom funded al-Qaeda terrorism in West Africa, UN says,” Reuters, August 15, 2026:
An estimated $50 million ransom paid to free a hostage seized by al-Qaeda-linked terrorists in Mali in late 2025 has helped to fund their advances across West Africa and the group’s global network, United Nations experts said.
A new UN report detailing the use of the ransom did not identify the hostage or say who had made the payment.
Three regional sources identified the country that made the payment as the United Arab Emirates. The sources said that an Emirati citizen, as well as two other foreigners who had been kidnapped but were not referenced in the UN report, were freed after money changed hands. They did not explain how it had been done.
In response to questions about the kidnapping and ransom payment, a UAE official did not address the specifics of the case but said the country was unwavering in condemning and countering extremism and terrorism….
࿗Infidel࿘ says
I watched this video weeks back. While the main story was about the Emirati backing of the Southern Transition Council militia in Yemen, it also touched on the geopolitical goals of the Emirates in seeking allies in Somaliland, Sudan and Egypt. Essentially, the Emirates was trying to create a Red Sea corridor of its own independent of the Saudis
https://youtu.be/IgD7zmJN3_A?si=3IZMKCSQmrwBQq_W
That said, even if the Emirates wants a larger footprint in Africa, I wonder why they’d pick jihadist groups in Africa, when they were among the first to back Marshall Haftar in Libya – the anti-jihadist party in that country