An Austrian and a Swiss woman freed in Niger after a year and half in captivity

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Two women from Austria and Switzerland have been freed in Niger after spending more than a year and a half in captivity, officials and local media reported Thursday.

The Austrian woman, an aid worker identified as Eva G, was received by the Austrian crisis team on Thursday, Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger said in a statement.

She was kidnapped in Niger’s Agadez city in January last year, months before the Swiss citizen was abducted in the same city in April 2025.

Meinl-Reisinger said Austria worked with Switzerland to find “a safe solution” for the women.

“We are all very relieved that Eva G. is free again after more than 21 months. This time was an unimaginable burden for her and her family,” Meinl-Reisinger said.

Swiss media quoted the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs as confirming the release of the Swiss woman.

Swiss newspaper 20 Minuten reported she was on her way home, quoting Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.

Officials did not say who was responsible for the abductions or how both women were freed.

The Austrian woman had been working as an aid worker in Agadez, hundreds of kilometers (miles) away from the capital city of Niamey, where she lived for more than 20 years, Nigerien media reported.

The Swiss citizen had also lived in Niger for several years.

Niger has for many years battled a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Analysts say the country’s security crisis has worsened since the military toppled the country’s government in July 2023.

Despite their promise to restore peace in hot spots, the junta’s capacity to improve Niger’s security has increasingly been questioned amid more frequent attacks.