Romanian citizen abducted in Burkina Faso freed after 6 years in captivity

A Romanian citizen who was abducted in northeast Burkina Faso in 2015 where he was working at a mine, was released Wednesday, Romania’s foreign ministry said.

Iulian Ghergut, who was 39 years old when a militant group linked to al-Qaida captured him at a mine where he was working as a security officer, was released and is safe on Romanian soil, the ministry said in a statement.

The press release thanked “all external partners, especially the Moroccan authorities, for the important support given in order to solve this extremely complicated case.” It provided no further details.

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Ghergut was the first hostage recorded in the West African nation since the early 2000s. His kidnapping in 2015 came at a time when extremist armed groups became active across the Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa.

Fighters linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have waged a violent insurgency in Burkina Faso for seven years. The violence has killed thousands of people and divided the country, leading to two coups last year.