22.10.2026 12:20
Austrian Eva Gretzmacher, 76, and Swiss Claudia Abbt, 69, who were kidnapped separately last year in Niger's city of Agadez, were handed over to authorities in Benghazi, Libya, after more than a year in captivity.
According to BBC News, two women, one Austrian and one Swiss, who had been held hostage for more than a year in Niger, were released and handed over to the authorities in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi.
Eva Gretzmacher, 76, and Claudia Abbt, 69, were kidnapped separately in the northern Niger city of Agadez in January and April last year.
It was not disclosed who held the women or what was demanded; the conditions of their release were also not announced. Some earlier reports linked the kidnapping to ISIS militants.
In footage broadcast by Libya's al-Masar television, the two women were seen getting into an ambulance-like vehicle, after which a medic attended to them. The French-speaking women thanked Khalifa Haftar, the military commander of eastern Libya, and his son Saddam Haftar for their release.
Libyan authorities said that after the necessary procedures are completed, the women will be handed over to the authorities of their own countries. According to Niger-based Air Info Agadez, the plane departing Benghazi on Thursday will first land in Vienna and then continue to Switzerland.
Gretzmacher had lived in Niger for many years as an aid worker. Abbt had worked in Agadez as a community worker for several years.
Niger and the Sahel region have been shaken for years by kidnappings and deadly attacks carried out by groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS. The country has been under military rule since General Abdurrahmane Tiani overthrew elected President Mohamed Bazoum in 2023.
Source: BBC