Two European women who were kidnapped separately in Niger last year have been freed after more than a year in captivity and handed over to authorities in Benghazi, eastern Libya.

The women, Swiss national Eva Gretzmacher, 76, and Austrian national Claudia Abbt, 69, were abducted in the northern Nigerien city of Agadez in January and April last year.

The circumstances surrounding their release remain unclear. No details have been disclosed about their captors or their demands, although previous reports linked the kidnappings to Islamic State militants.

Libyan officials were reported as saying the women would be handed over to authorities in their respective countries after the necessary procedures were completed.

Footage aired by Libya’s al-Masar television showed the women entering what appeared to be an ambulance before receiving attention from a health worker.

Speaking in French, the women thanked Khalifa Haftar, the military commander in eastern Libya, and his son, Saddam Haftar, for 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 first in Vienna to transfer Gretzmacher to Austrian authorities before continuing to Switzerland with Abbt.

The release comes against the backdrop of persistent insecurity in the Sahel region, where 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 deposed the country’s elected president, Mohamed Bazoum.

Libya, meanwhile, remains divided between rival administrations, with one based in the east and backed by Haftar, and another in the capital, Tripoli, led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah.

The country has struggled to recover from the instability that followed the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi. (Arise News)