Moroccan media reported on Sunday that the two Moroccan cyclo tourists who went missing on the border between Burkina Faso and Niger, Abderrahmane Serhani and Driss Fatihi, have been found safe and sound.
The two Moroccans were kidnapped by an armed group on 01 April and then released, according to the Moroccan news agency, citing a ‘well-informed source’.
Thanks to cooperation between the Nigerian and Moroccan authorities, the Moroccans were located and then released, the same source said.
Earlier, a diplomatic source had announced that the two Moroccans were missing. However, their abduction had not been officially reported.
It should be recalled that the two cyclists left Morocco on 19th January, and had not given any news after entering Burkina Faso from Ivory Coast.
One of the two cyclists had posted a video on his Facebook page on 29 March, in which he claimed to be heading for Burkina Faso, whose north-eastern parts are caught up in a spiral of violence attributed to armed terrorist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (EI).
Now, the two men are still in Niamey and are undergoing medical examinations, under the supervision of elements of the Kingdom’s embassy, before being repatriated to Morocco.