BAMAKO: Islamic State-affiliated militants have released four Moroccan truck drivers kidnapped in January, Mali said late on Monday, according to state media, highlighting growing intelligence cooperation between the two countries.
The men and their three trucks disappeared in January while crossing without an escort from Dori in Burkina Faso to Tera in Niger, an area known for jihadist threats, a diplomatic source said at the time.
They were shown alongside Mali junta leader Assimi Goita in footage broadcast on Monday night by state media, which reported that they had been freed on Sunday.
Junta-led Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali are battling militant groups linked to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State that have been destabilising West Africa’s Sahel region for more than a decade.
All three countries have halted defense cooperation with France and other Western forces and turned toward Russia for military support. And last year they announced their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), raising the risk of diplomatic isolation.
