Two European women held captive for more than a year in Niger freed in Libya

Two women – a Swiss and an Austrian – have been freed after more than a year in captivity in Niger and handed over to authorities in the Libyan city of Benghazi.

Key points

• Swiss national Eva Gretzmacher, 76, and Austrian Claudia Abbt, 69, were kidnapped separately in the northern Nigerien city of Agadez in January and April last year.
• The country has been under military control since 2023 when Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani deposed the country's elected President, Mohamed Bazoum.
• Libya has struggled to recover from the chaos that followed the 2011 Nato-backed uprising that toppled long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
• Speaking in French, the women thanked Khalifa Haftar, military commander of eastern Libya, and his son, Saddam Haftar, for their release.
• Although some reports have previously linked the kidnapping to Islamic State militants, no details have been given regarding who was holding them or their demands.

Although some reports have previously linked the kidnapping to Islamic State militants, no details have been given regarding who was holding them or their demands. The circumstances of their release were not disclosed.

Libyan authorities were noted as saying the women would be handed over to authorities in their respective countries after necessary procedures were completed.

Libya's al-Masar TV indicated the two women entering what looks like an ambulance and afterwards being attended to by a health worker.

While Abbt had spent a number of years living and working as a community worker in Agadez, gretzmacher was an aid worker who had lived for plenty of years in Niger.

Notably, a plane was projected to leave Benghazi on Thursday, first stopping in Vienna to transfer Gretzmacher to Austrian authorities before continuing to Switzerland with Abbt, privately owned Air Info Agadez news outlet noted.

It is split between two administrations – one in the east backed by Haftar, and the other in the west in the capital Tripoli, led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah.

Niger and the broader Sahel region have faced years of jihadist violence, including kidnappings and deadly attacks, carried out by different groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State.

In practice, the country has been under military control since 2023 when Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani deposed the country's elected President, Mohamed Bazoum. You may additionally be interested in. Kidnapping of foreigners soars in Africa's lawless Sahel region.

'I thought I would die' – freed captive tells BBC of life in West African jihadist base. How an al-Qaeda offshoot became one of Africa's deadliest militant groups.

Meanwhile, the horror of being trapped in the country everyone wants to leave.

Go to BBCAfrica.com, external for more news from the African continent.

Taken together, the developments around two European women held captive for more than a year in Niger point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.