Four Moroccan truck drivers who were kidnapped in West Africa over the weekend were released in Niger, officials said, according to AP.
The drivers were the latest victims of insecurity in the Sahel, an arid swath of land south of the Sahara where militant groups such as ISIS - Sahel Province have in recent years exploited local grievances to grow their ranks and expand their presence.
The four were transporting electrical equipment from Casablanca to Niamey, the capital city of Niger, and had been on the road for more than 20 days traveling the 3,000-mile (4,950-kilometer) truck route when they were reported missing on Saturday, said the secretary-general of Morocco's Transport Union and a Moroccan official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the kidnapping.
The Moroccan Embassy in Burkina Faso late on Monday informed the union that the four drivers had been freed and were safe in Niamey.
“They will be brought back soon,” said Echarki El Hachmi, the union's secretary-general.
Their trucks and hauls remain missing, he added.
Burkina Faso and Niger are battling extremist militant groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS, whose insurgencies have destabilized Sahel states in West Africa over the past decade.
A Moroccan diplomatic source earlier said the embassy was working together with Burkina Faso authorities to find the drivers.
Authorities in Burkina Faso have been organizing security convoys to escort trucks in the border area to protect against militant attacks, the source said.
El Hachmi had told Reuters that the trucks set off after waiting for a week without getting an escort.
He urged more protection in high-risk areas as the number of Moroccan trucks crossing the Sahel continues to rise.
Earlier this month, a convoy of Moroccan trucks was attacked on the Malian border with Mauritania. There were no casualties, El Hachmi said.
