Sources have told African Perceptions that 22 Libyan detainees have been released from custody in Niger, including Lieutenant Bahar al-Din Midoun, a member of Libya’s Awlad Suleiman tribe.

According to the sources, the release followed mediation led by prominent Tuareg figure Akli Shaka, who is known for his extensive network of political and tribal contacts across the Sahel and North Africa. Several Western media outlets have described him as the “Black Box of the Sahara” because of his role in sensitive regional mediation efforts.

The sources said Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) provided significant support to the mediation process. They added that the Libyan Ministry of Defence, represented by Abdul Salam Al-Zoubi, reached an understanding with the Nigerien authorities involving enhanced security and defence cooperation, as well as economic assistance, in exchange for the detainees’ release.

A highly informed source close to the case in Tripoli told African Perceptions that Lieutenant Bahar al-Din Midoun, one of the commanders of the Sabha revolutionary forces and a member of the Awlad Suleiman tribe, was not on an official military mission in Niger. Instead, he was travelling with a group of 21 Libyans, most of them soldiers or former fighters, including a large number of Tuaregs or Libyans of Tuareg origin, as well as members of the Mahamid tribe, others from Awlad Suleiman, one man from Misrata, and another from Zawiya in western Libya.

The source said the group entered Niger during the winter of last year to visit relatives from the Tuareg community, without any official or military status. Nigerien authorities later became aware of their presence and arrested them. They remained in detention for several months before mediation led by Akli Shaka, with the support of Libya’s Government of National Unity, resulted in an agreement that secured their release.

Neither the Libyan nor the Nigerien authorities have officially confirmed the reported agreement or disclosed its full details.

In recent years, Akli Shaka has played a key role in several mediation initiatives across the Sahel, relying on his extensive network of tribal, political and security contacts in Libya, Mali, Niger and Algeria, making him one of the region’s most influential unofficial mediators.