Romania thanks Morocco for its efforts in the release of an abducted Sahel national

Romania has thanked Morocco for its "significant support" following the release of Iulian Ghergut, held in the Sahel since 2015. Romanian Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu announced the release of Ghergut, a security officer at a manganese mine in northern Burkina Faso, near the borders of Mali and Niger, who was kidnapped on 4 April 2015 by the Al-Mourabitoune group, linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). 

Happy to announce that after many efforts we have succeeded in bringing home the 🇷🇴 citizen from #BurkinaFaso. I am grateful for all the hard work done by the 🇷🇴inter-institutional task force & the support of all our partners, particularly 🇲🇦 authorities!🙏🙏@Marocdiplo_EN

— Luminita Odobescu (@Odobes1Luminita) August 9, 2023

Odobescu thanked all partners in Bucharest for their work, particularly the support of the Moroccan authorities. According to the ministry, Ghergut is currently safe in Romania, where he returned on Wednesday. On Twitter, President Klaus Iohannis thanked the "external partners who supported" Romania "in this difficult task".

Ghergut was 39 years old when he was abducted by unidentified gunmen in the Burkinabe manganese mine Tambao, near Mali. A spokesman for the Al-Mourabitoune terrorist group claimed that they had presented conditions to Romania in exchange for Ghergut's freedom, as reported by Morocco World News. 

This is not the first time Morocco has played a key role in the repatriation of a foreign national from the troubled Sahel region, an increasingly unstable and insecure area due to the threat of terrorist groups.

In December 2022, the German press reported that activist Jörg Lange had been released thanks to Moroccan intelligence services operating in Mali. Lange was running the NGO Help in Niger when he was kidnapped together with his driver in April 2018 by armed men on the border with Mali.