The Global Advisor Kidnap & extortive crime | July 2025
Middle East and North Africa
Although Syria saw a decrease in the number of reported kidnaps in the second quarter of 2025 relative to the same period in 2024, the reduction was due to a worsening reporting environment, and the kidnap threat across the country remains elevated. Since the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024 (in office 2000-24), governorates that had benefitted from improved security provision, namely Latakia and Tartous, saw a rise in sectarian and financially motivated kidnaps due to the activity of the Syrian General Security (SGS) and criminal groups. Elsewhere, Turkish-backed militias continued to rely on the crime in Aleppo governorate, while criminal groups have maintained an entrenched presence in As Suwayda and Daraa governorates. In Iran and Yemen , the detention threat remained closely tied to broader geopolitical developments in the region. In the immediate aftermath of the Israel-Iran conflict, Control Risks recorded a limited uptick in the detention of Western nationals in Iran . This trend is likely to continue in the coming months, regardless of whether the ceasefire between Israel and Iran holds, as Tehran will continue to use foreign detainees as bargaining chips as part of its “hostage diplomacy” to extract concessions from their home governments. In Yemen , the renewed US air strikes against Houthi infrastructure between March and April 2025 triggered an escalation in detentions of local nationals perceived to be affiliated with the US or Israel.
Lebanon continued to record periodic kidnaps over the second quarter of 2025, with overall figures remaining comparatively stable relative to the same period in the previous year. Although overall numbers of reported kidnaps decreased nationwide following Israel’s military strikes targeting the Lebanese Shia movement Hizbullah in 2024, kidnapping-for-ransom simultaneously emerged in South Lebanon governorate, as the conflict created a permissive security environment for criminal groups to operate. These incidents closely mirrored national trends with Syrian nationals accounting for the majority of reported victims. Despite the overall decrease in reported kidnaps, a number of criminal groups will continue to capitalise on the lower levels of policing to engage in the crime, particularly in the eastern governorates of Baalbek-Hermel and Beqaa, bordering Syria Across North Africa , with the notable exception of Libya, the kidnap landscape continued to be characterised by the activity of low-level and financially motivated criminals. While Egypt continued to see periodic kidnaps over the past quarter, reported incidents in Tunisia , Morocco and Algeria remained rare or sporadic. Reported kidnaps in these countries continued to be concentrated in urban areas, owing to a larger population density. Perpetrators operate with limited capabilities and predominantly target local businesspeople and their dependants, often as a means of settling interpersonal disputes or forcing debt repayments.
65 % of abductions happened in transit/outdoors 88 % of abductions resolved in less than 8 days 8 sectors affected
Key developments April to June 2025
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region saw numbers of reported kidnaps over the second quarter of 2025 decrease by 30% relative to the same period in 2024, in line with trends in the previous quarter. The decrease in reported kidnaps continued to be driven a reduction in reported incidents in Syria and Iran , where media coverage on specific kidnap incidents waned. Detentions will continue to pose a prevalent threat to commercial personnel in Iran and Yemen . Lebanon has continued to see periodic kidnaps, with South Lebanon governorates seeing their share of nationwide reported kidnaps increase. Reported kidnaps in most of North Africa (with the exception of Libya),
continued to be perpetrated by low-level criminals and driven by interpersonal disputes.
07
Copyright © Control Risks – Please refer to the disclaimer at the end of this document.
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker