Moroccan truck drivers freed after IS kidnapping in Sahel

Four Moroccan truck drivers kidnapped by Islamic State militants in January near the Burkina Faso-Niger border have been released, Mali’s government announced Monday, according to AFP. The men appeared alongside junta leader Assimi Goita on Malian state television, which confirmed they were freed “safe and sound” on Sunday.

The drivers had been transporting equipment for Niger’s state utility NIGELEC without a security escort when they were abducted in northeastern Burkina Faso. Nigerien authorities recovered their vehicles days later.

Armed groups linked to IS and Al-Qaeda have expanded operations across Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger—countries now governed by military regimes that seized power between 2020 and 2023.

Mali credited “fruitful cooperation” with Moroccan authorities for securing the drivers’ release, marking a rare instance of successful diplomacy in a region increasingly destabilized by jihadist violence and weakened state institutions.