The Italian news agency “Nova” confirmed that the Libyan Armed Forces carried out a military operation on October 21, resulting in the freeing of five Nigerian soldiers who had been held captive for 16 months. It noted that a rebel group known as the “National Front for Justice” had kidnapped the former governor of the Bilma region, Amadou Torda, and four of his men during an attack in the Dirkou area on the border between Niger and Libya.
“Nova” explained that the rebel group is active along the border strip between Niger and Libya, and that the liberation operation ended a captivity of more than a year, following the abduction that occurred in Dirkou targeting Torda and his team.
According to “Nova,” the five freed individuals appeared in two video clips dated October 23 and 24, dressed in civilian clothes, identifying themselves as they disembarked from a military aircraft on a runway. Libyan military sources stated the runway is located at the Al-Qatrun base in the south of the country, near the borders of Niger and Chad.