Missing Moroccan Truckers Amid Sahel Instability

Four Moroccan truck drivers went missing in the volatile border area between Burkina Faso and Niger while traveling without a security escort. Efforts are underway by the Moroccan embassy and Burkina Faso authorities to locate them amidst ongoing threats from Islamist militant groups in the region.

Four Moroccan truck drivers disappeared on Saturday while navigating the treacherous border region between Burkina Faso and Niger. According to sources at the Moroccan embassy in Burkina Faso and a Moroccan transport union, the truckers were traveling without an escort when they vanished.

The three trucks, one of which carried a spare driver, embarked on their journey from Dori in Burkina Faso to Tera in Niger—a route plagued by jihadist threats. The area is known for insurgencies by groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State, severely destabilizing the Sahel states over the past decade.

The Moroccan embassy in Burkina Faso is actively collaborating with local authorities to locate the missing drivers. Given the heightened risks, Burkina Faso has been organizing security convoys to protect trucks against militant attacks. Despite waiting a week for an escort, the Moroccan trucks, laden with infrastructure equipment and departing from Casablanca weeks earlier, embarked unprotected, according to El Charki El Hamchi, Secretary General of Morocco's transporters' union.

(With inputs from agencies.)