Four Moroccan drivers kidnapped in Burkina Faso freed with the help of Mali and Morocco

The four Moroccan truck drivers,abducted in January 2025 in northeastern Burkina Faso near the border with Niger,have been freed,said on Monday the Malian government.

“The government of the Republic of Mali informs the national and international community that four Moroccan truck drivers kidnapped on January 18,2025,in northeastern Burkina Faso near the border with Niger,were released unharmed Sunday (August 3,2025),” said a Malian government statement,read on national television.

The four Moroccan drivers were taken hostages by ISIS branch in Sahel. Their successful rescue was made possible thanks to the coordinated efforts of Mali’s National Agency for State Security and Morocco’s Foreign Intelligence Agency (General Directorate of Studies & Documentation) which worked together with perseverance and professionalism to resolve this situation,said the Malian Govt. statement.

The Moroccan drivers were aboard three trucks. They disappeared as they drove without an escort from Dori in Burkina Faso to Tera in Niger,an area reeling under jihadi threats. Their trucks were loaded with infrastructure equipment and departed from Casablanca heading to Niger.

Few days after their abduction amid confusion,unconfirmed press reports had said that the four Moroccan truck drivers had been found “safe and sound” and on their way to the Moroccan embassy in Niger. But it was not true. Now the government of Mali confirms their liberation,giving a sigh of relief to their families.