two European women freed in Libya after Niger kidnapping
Austrian and Swiss nationals were held for over a year and a half before their release.
An Austrian and a Swiss woman kidnapped in Niger more than a year and a half ago have been freed and are in Libya, Bern and Vienna announced Thursday. 69-year-old Swiss national Claudia Abbt and 76-year-old Eva Gretzmacher arrived in the eastern city of Benghazi where they received medical treatment. Their release follows an intervention by Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar. No group has publicly claimed responsibility for the abductions.
Both women were living in Agadez in northern Niger when they were captured and had been involved in education and development initiatives. They were met in Benghazi by teams from their respective countries. The Swiss government told the BBC that the freed national was on her way back to Switzerland. Gretzmacher was taken on 11 January 2025, while Abbt was captured in April last year.
Many experts and Nigerien media outlets have suggested that the Islamic State in the Sahel jihadist group, or its affiliated groups, could be responsible. Looking tired, they appeared in a broadcast by an eastern-based television channel Al-Masar thanking Haftar and his son, Saddam, for securing their freedom.
Why it mattersTwo European women were kidnapped in Niger and later freed in Libya.