According to the latest army operations bulletin, Moroccan nationals, the number of whom is not specified, were "kidnapped by unidentified individuals on 18 January 2025", on the road between Dori (north-east Burkina) and Téra (west Niger).
On 19 January, a source from the Moroccan embassy in Burkina Faso had announced to AFP the disappearance of four Moroccan truckers.
During a "reconnaissance mission" carried out at the end of last week around the town of Téra, between Petelkole and Taratakou, the Nigerien army "discovered and recovered four trucks transporting equipment, which were transferred to Niamey" for "the needs of the investigation", it said.
"Unfortunately, the kidnapped Moroccan nationals remain untraceable at this stage", it also indicated.
It specifies that they were transporting equipment intended for the Nigerien Electricity Company (NIGELEC, public) and that they were travelling "without escort" for security.
The Nigerien army assures that it is "intensifying" its searches, "multiplying reconnaissance missions in the region" and "monitoring sensitive border areas", in "collaboration" with its neighbours and allies, Burkina Faso and Mali, with whom Niger forms a confederation, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
The Téra area is the site of deadly and regular jihadist attacks.
Armed groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have been active for about ten years in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali, three countries led by military regimes resulting from coups d'état perpetrated between 2020 and 2023.
The three countries recently announced the creation of a joint force of 5,000 men to fight against the jihadists.
Also in mid-January, an Austrian woman, Eva Gretzmacher, was kidnapped in the north of Niger, in Agadez. The identity of her kidnappers is still unknown.
A few days later, a Spanish national was kidnapped at the Algerian-Malian border by an armed gang, then released.
On 19 January, a source from the Moroccan embassy in Burkina Faso had announced to AFP the disappearance of four Moroccan truckers.
During a "reconnaissance mission" carried out at the end of last week around the town of Téra, between Petelkole and Taratakou, the Nigerien army "discovered and recovered four trucks transporting equipment, which were transferred to Niamey" for "the needs of the investigation", it said.
"Unfortunately, the kidnapped Moroccan nationals remain untraceable at this stage", it also indicated.
It specifies that they were transporting equipment intended for the Nigerien Electricity Company (NIGELEC, public) and that they were travelling "without escort" for security.
The Nigerien army assures that it is "intensifying" its searches, "multiplying reconnaissance missions in the region" and "monitoring sensitive border areas", in "collaboration" with its neighbours and allies, Burkina Faso and Mali, with whom Niger forms a confederation, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
The Téra area is the site of deadly and regular jihadist attacks.
Armed groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have been active for about ten years in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali, three countries led by military regimes resulting from coups d'état perpetrated between 2020 and 2023.
The three countries recently announced the creation of a joint force of 5,000 men to fight against the jihadists.
Also in mid-January, an Austrian woman, Eva Gretzmacher, was kidnapped in the north of Niger, in Agadez. The identity of her kidnappers is still unknown.
A few days later, a Spanish national was kidnapped at the Algerian-Malian border by an armed gang, then released.
