BAMAKO: Four Moroccan truck drivers, who were kidnapped in January in West Africa by the Daesh group and held captive for months, were released late Sunday, Malian authorities said.
The truckers were traveling 3,000 miles to transport electrical equipment from Casablanca to Niamey, the capital of Niger, before they were reported missing on January 18, 2025, in northeastern Burkina Faso, near the border with Niger.
The Malian government said in a statement read on public television late Monday the truck drivers were released “safe and sound” Sunday evening.
It added the four were held by the Islamic State in the Sahel Province, a subgroup of the Islamic state group. Malian public television showed video of the drivers wearing traditional Malian clothes in the company of junta leader Gen. Assimi Goïta.
The Malian government said their release was made possible thanks to the coordinated efforts between Mali’s National State Security Agency and Morocco’s foreign intelligence service.
Mali, along with neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger, has for more than a decade battled an insurgency by armed groups, including some allied with Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group. Following military coups, the three countries expelled French forces and turned to Russia’s mercenary units for assistance, but the security situation has been deteriorating.
In May, extremist fighters abducted two Chinese nationals during an attack on an artisanal gold mining site in Mali.
In February, Moroccan authorities said they arrested a dozen people who were planning attacks on behalf of the Islamic State in the Sahel Province subgroup.
Morocco has worked to present itself as a regional leader and is forging deeper ties with countries in the Sahel. Foreign ministers of landlocked Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso said they were backing a Moroccan initiative granting them access to the Atlantic ocean using its ports.
Last year, Rabat mediated the release of four French intelligence agents held in Burkina Faso.
Morrocan truck drivers kidnapped by Daesh group released in Mali
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Morrocan truck drivers kidnapped by Daesh group released in Mali
- The Malian government said in a statement read on public television late Monday the truck drivers were released “safe and sound” Sunday evening
MSF says it will not share staff details demanded by Israel to access Gaza
- The aid groups say sharing such staff information could pose a safety risk
- Aid agencies dispute that substantial aid has been diverted
GENEVA: Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said on Friday it will not submit lists of staff demanded by Israel to maintain access to Gaza and the West Bank, saying it had not been able to obtain assurances over the safety of its teams.
MSF, which supports and helps staff hospitals in Gaza, is one of 37 international organizations that Israel ordered this month to stop work in the Palestinian territories unless they meet new rules including providing employee details.
The aid groups say sharing such staff information could pose a safety risk, pointing to the hundreds of aid workers who were killed or injured during the two-year Gaza war.
Israel’s diaspora ministry, which manages the registration process, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel has previously said the registrations were meant to prevent diversions of aid by Palestinian armed groups. Aid agencies dispute that substantial aid has been diverted.
MSF had said last week it would be prepared to share a partial list of Palestinian and international staff who had agreed to release that information, provided the list be used only for administrative purposes and not put its team at risk. It also said it wanted to retain control over the management of medical humanitarian supplies.
“However, despite repeated efforts, it became evident in recent days that we were unable to build engagement with Israeli authorities on the concrete assurances required,” MSF said in a statement.
It said there could be a devastating impact on humanitarian services if it is banned from operating in Gaza and the West Bank, amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
