Arabic version: الإفراج عن نمساوية وسويسرية بعد احتجازهما في النيجر

According to BBC News, Austrian national Eva Gretzmacher, 76, and Swiss national Claudia Abbt, 69, have been freed after being held captive for more than a year in Niger. The women were handed to authorities in Benghazi, in eastern Libya, after being kidnapped separately in the northern Nigerien city of Agadez.

Gretzmacher was abducted in January last year and Abbt in April last year. Authorities have not disclosed who held them, what demands may have been made, or the circumstances of their release. Some previous reports had linked the kidnappings to Islamic State militants.

Austria said Gretzmacher was released following “intensive diplomatic efforts”. Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger said Austria had worked discreetly with regional, European and international partners for many months. Switzerland said federal administration officials met Abbt in Benghazi, where she received medical care, and that she was travelling back to Switzerland.

Both women had longstanding connections to Agadez. Gretzmacher had lived for many years in Niger as an aid worker, while Abbt had lived and worked in the city for several years as a community worker. Footage aired by Libya’s al-Masar TV showed the women entering what appeared to be an ambulance and later being attended by a health worker.

Niger and neighbouring countries have faced years of jihadist violence, including kidnappings and deadly attacks by groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State. Libya remains divided between an eastern administration backed by military commander Khalifa Haftar and a western administration in Tripoli led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah.