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Mali: Islamist militants release Moroccan truck drivers detained since January

Mali's state media reported late Monday that militants affiliated with the Islamic State have freed four Moroccan truckers kidnapped back in January. This shows the growing intelligence collaboration between Mali and Morocco.

A diplomatic source at the time said that in January, three men and their trucks vanished while traveling without escorts from Dori, Burkina Faso, to Tera, Niger. This area is known for its jihadist threat.

State media broadcast footage of them with Assimi Goita, the leader of Mali's junta. The report said that they were freed Sunday.

Burkina Faso led by the Junta, Niger and Mali battling militants linked to al Qaeda or Islamic State who have destabilised West Africa's Sahel for over a decade.

All three countries have stopped their defence cooperation with France, and other Western forces. They now turn to Russia for support. Last year, they announced that they were withdrawing from the Economic Community of West Africa States. This increased the risk of diplomatic exclusion.

Morocco has moved closer to three landlocked nations.

In April, the Foreign Ministers of Burkina Faso Niger and Mali approved an initiative that offered them access to global commerce through Morocco's Atlantic port. Morocco also helped secure the December release of four French citizens who had been detained in Burkina Faso.

According to Malian media, the release of four truck drivers on Sunday was the result of a collaboration between security and intelligence services in Mali and Morocco.

(source: Reuters)