Aizawl forward Abdoulaye Kanoute hails from Kidal, Northern Mali, a hotbed of civil unrest and militant insurgency. Kanoute, NEROCA FC's Boubacar Diara and Ousmane Diawara, all from Mali, are stuck in India because of the cancellation of international flights due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The trio have been stuck in India for more than three months now, with no hope of a repatriation flights because of domestic issues in Mali. Kanoute and Diawara are being given assistance by the clubs but they are currently stranded.
On March 31, the Kidal market was burnt down which caused significant damage to property but fortunately there was no loss of human capital.