Four Moroccan truck drivers have gone missing while crossing the volatile border area between Burkina Faso and Niger, a region known for jihadist activity, according to the Moroccan embassy in Burkina Faso and the Moroccan Transport Union.
The drivers were traveling without an escort from Dori in Burkina Faso to Tera in Niger when their three trucks, including one carrying a spare driver, disappeared. This stretch is notorious for security threats posed by Islamist militant groups.
Burkina Faso and Niger, both led by military juntas, are grappling with insurgencies linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State that have destabilized the Sahel region for over a decade.
The Moroccan embassy is working closely with Burkinabe authorities to locate the missing drivers. Officials in Burkina Faso often organize security convoys to safeguard trucks in high-risk border zones, but the vehicles departed after waiting a week without receiving an escort, according to Echarki El Hachmi, Secretary General of Morocco’s Transporters’ Union.
The trucks, carrying infrastructure equipment, left Casablanca several weeks ago, bound for Niger. El Hachmi has called for increased protection in these high-risk areas, highlighting the growing number of Moroccan trucks traversing the Sahel.
Earlier this month, Moroccan trucks were attacked near the Malian border with Mauritania. While there were no casualties in that incident, it underscores the increasing dangers faced by transporters in the region.
