Missing Moroccan drivers' lorries found in Sahel area

Niger's army said on Thursday it had recovered four lorries used by Moroccan drivers who went missing near the border with Burkina Faso, in an area where insurgents operate.

Four Moroccan truckers were reported missing in mid-January and have not been found.

The army said in its latest bulletin that the drivers "were abducted by unidentified individuals on January 18" on the road linking Tera in western Niger to Dori in northeastern Burkina.

It said that during a reconnaissance operation in the Tera area last week, soldiers had recovered the lorries and taken them back to the capital Niamey as part of the probe into the incident.

Search and reconnaissance

The vehicles were carrying equipment destined for Niger's state power company NIGELEC and had been travelling "without a security escort."

The army said it would intensify search and reconnaissance missions in the region and monitor sensitive border areas in collaboration with neighbouring Mali and Burkina.

The leaders of the three West African nations formed a defence pact known as the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) after seizing power in coups between 2020 and 2023 and leaving the region’s main political and trade group ECOWAS.

➤Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel for more stories.