Mystery in the Sahel: Missing Moroccan Truckers Amidst Rising Jihadist Threat

Four Moroccan truck drivers have gone missing in the dangerous border region between Burkina Faso and Niger, an area known for jihadist threats. They disappeared during an unescorted trip from Dori, Burkina Faso, to Tera, Niger. Diplomatic efforts are underway to locate them.

Four Moroccan truck drivers vanished on Saturday in the perilous border zone separating Burkina Faso and Niger, according to information from the Moroccan embassy in Burkina Faso and a Moroccan transport union.

The drivers were part of a convoy destined for Niger that set off from Dori, Burkina Faso, without security escort, in a region notorious for jihadist activity, a diplomatic source confirmed. Burkina Faso and Niger, under the leadership of a military junta, are engaged in ongoing struggles against Islamist militants associated with al Qaeda and Islamic State, which have destabilized West Africa's Sahel states over the last ten years.

The Moroccan embassy is actively collaborating with Burkina Faso authorities to find the missing drivers. Despite the use of security convoys to preempt militant attacks, the trucks had proceeded after waiting for a week without an escort. Echarki El Hachmi, Secretary General of Morocco's transporters' union, has called for increased security as more Moroccan trucks traverse these high-risk areas, following a recent attack on a convoy near the Malian border with Mauritania, fortunately, resulting in no casualties.

(With inputs from agencies.)