AQIM gets $120 million as ransoms, US official says

The United States of America has reiterated its call to the international community summoning them not to pay ransoms for the terrorist groups in exchange for the liberation of hostages, singling out the out the importance of putting an end to this practice considering it as main source of financing to these criminals.

The United States’ stand was expressed by the Secretary of State mouthpiece Victoria Nolland during a press conference where she’s been asked about declarations made by the former US ambassador to Mali Vicki Hodlston to a French TV channel accusing Frnace of paying millions of Dollars to terrorists in order to release its hostages in the Sahel region.

The US official has singled out that America “ will carry on supporting its allies from the international community that do not play the game of the terrorists”. She went on saying that paying ransoms means financing terrorism.

Replying to question concerning the declarations made by the former US ambassador to Bamako concerning the payment of ransoms by France to terrorists,  Nolland declined to name a given country but implicitly acknowledged that AQIM carries on its attempts to get ransoms and believes that it has succeeded several times.

The US Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David . S Cohen has called for breaking what he billed as the “ vicious circle” of kidnappings versus ransoms considering the practice as the biggest” danger” .

Talking before a gathering of top officials from Germany , France, Italy and the United States Cohen has asserted that the United States considers that the terrorist organizations have garnered some $ 120 million over the last 8 years through ransoms, noting that the biggest beneficiary was Al Qaeda in he Islamic Maghreb.