Austrian, Swiss Women Freed After 18 Months in Niger, Reach Libya
An Austrian woman and a Swiss woman have arrived in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi after more than 18 months of detention in Niger. Two officials said on Wednesday that the Austrian Swiss women freed Niger ordeal ended when the pair were flown out of the West African country.
The women are expected to be handed over to the authorities of their respective countries once the necessary procedures are complete.
Kidnapped months apart in the desert
The Austrian, identified by Austrian authorities as Eva G, is in her 70s. She was kidnapped in the desert town of Agadez in central Niger in January 2025. Eva G had been living in Niger for years before her abduction.
The Swiss woman was taken hostage in April 2025, roughly three months later. Bern has not publicly named her. The Swiss Foreign Ministry has kept her identity private since the day she was seized.
Little information has been released about which group was holding the two women. Officials have also said nothing about what demands their captors may have made during the long detention.
Austrian Swiss women freed Niger: the diplomatic effort
Both European governments moved quickly to confirm the news. The Austrian Foreign Ministry confirmed the release of Eva G after what it called a “long, complex, and highly sensitive diplomatic process”.
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis confirmed in a post on X that the Swiss woman had been freed. He said she was on her way back to Switzerland. His ministry said it had formed a task force after her capture, bringing together police and intelligence services. The task force stayed in regular contact with Austria throughout the 18 months.
For reasons of privacy protection, the Swiss ministry said it would not provide more details about the case.
A verified account of the operation added one more detail beyond the first reports. Reuters reported that the operation to secure the women’s release was overseen by Saddam Haftar, the deputy commander-in-chief of Libya’s armed forces. The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity.
Why Niger’s Sahel remains dangerous for foreigners
The two abductions fit a grim pattern across the central Sahel. Niger, like its neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso, is battling a jihadist insurgency linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State, which grew out of a Tuareg rebellion in northern Mali in 2012.
Over the past decade, the violence has killed thousands and displaced millions across the region. Kidnappings of foreign nationals appeared to intensify in Niger last year. Armed groups use abductions to raise ransom money and pressure governments.
Agadez, where Eva G was seized, sits on historic trans-Saharan trading routes. The city has long drawn travellers to the desert. That same remoteness has now made foreigners easy targets there.
The wider region keeps suffering. West Africa has faced repeated tragedies, from a military plane crash in Nigeria that killed all 32 on board to abductions closer to home. Pakistan has dealt with its own hostage crises, including the release of 13 hostages in Bannu after negotiations and the abduction of an MPA’s brother and guards in Swabi.
Long detentions are not unique to the Sahel. Pakistani sailors returned home after years of captivity off Somalia, and the crew of the MT Honour 25 endured months held by pirates.
What happens next
The two women will now complete formal procedures in Libya before travelling home. Neither government has said whether ransom was paid, and the captor group remains unidentified, so the full story of the release may stay secret for some time.
The original reporting on this story appeared in Dawn’s world news coverage, with further details from Reuters on the arrival in Benghazi.
Frequently asked questions
Who were the two women held in Niger?
One was Eva G, an Austrian national in her 70s who had lived in Niger for years. The other was a Swiss woman whose name the Swiss Foreign Ministry has not released for privacy reasons.
When were they kidnapped?
Eva G was seized in Agadez, central Niger, in January 2025. The Swiss woman was taken hostage in April 2025. Both were freed after more than 18 months in detention.
