The Malian government has announced the release of four Moroccan drivers who had been abducted for more than six months in northeastern Niger, near the border with Burkina Faso.
Mali’s transitional president, General Assimi Goïta, personally welcomed the drivers upon their arrival in Bamako.
An official statement indicated that the drivers had been held by the Islamic State in the Sahel province and that their release was achieved through “coordinated cooperation” between Mali’s National State Security Agency and Morocco’s General Directorate for Studies and Documentation (DGED), without confirming whether a ransom was paid.
The four drivers were kidnapped on January 18, 2025, in a border area between Niger and Burkina Faso, where several armed groups, including the Islamic State and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), are active.
