By Mardiyyah Abubakar
Two European women kidnapped separately in Niger last year have regained their freedom after more than a year in captivity. Authorities transferred them to Benghazi, eastern Libya.
The women, Swiss national Eva Gretzmacher, 76, and Austrian national Claudia Abbt, 69, were abducted in Agadez, northern Niger, in January and April 2025, respectively.
Authorities have not disclosed the circumstances of their release or provided details about their captors and their demands. However, previous reports linked the kidnappings to Islamic State militants.
Libyan officials said they would hand the women over to authorities in their respective countries after completing the necessary procedures.
Footage aired by Libya’s al-Masar television showed the women entering what appeared to be an ambulance before a health worker attended to them.
Speaking in French, the women thanked Khalifa Haftar, the military commander in eastern Libya, and his son, Saddam Haftar, for securing their release.
Gretzmacher, a Swiss aid worker, had lived in Niger for many years, while Abbt had spent several years living and working as a community worker in Agadez.
Privately owned Air Info Agadez reported that a plane was expected to leave Benghazi on Thursday, stopping in Vienna to transfer Gretzmacher to Austrian authorities before continuing to Switzerland with Abbt.
Their release comes amid persistent insecurity across the Sahel, where armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State have carried out kidnappings and deadly attacks for years.
Niger has been under military rule since 2023, when General Abdourahmane Tchiani ousted elected President Mohamed Bazoum.
Libya also remains divided between rival administrations. One operates in the east under the influence of Haftar, while the other is based in Tripoli and led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah.
The country has struggled to recover from years of instability following the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi.
