Release reported overnight

Reuters reported on the evening of Wednesday, 21 October, citing two anonymous official sources, that an Austrian woman and a Swiss woman had arrived in Benghazi in eastern Libya after being freed in Niger. The agency did not name them. Libyan sources had confirmed that the two women were in Benghazi, but formalities still had to be completed before they could be handed over to the Austrian and Swiss representations. The Libyan broadcaster al-Masar reported their arrival overnight into Thursday, 22 October, and said the two had been freed after roughly a year and a half in captivity.

The abductions

The Austrian woman, who is 76 according to her own words in a video, was kidnapped in the desert town of Agadez in central Niger in January 2025. The Swiss woman, 69, was abducted in April 2025. The Swiss woman said she had been held hostage for one year and six months, and the Austrian for one year and nine months. It was not immediately clear which group had held them or what demands it had made.

Video and the Haftar family's role

A video released by al-Masar showed both women looking exhausted as they sat beneath a portrait of Marshal Khalifa Haftar. Speaking in French, they thanked the Marshal and his son, General Saddam Haftar, for their release. Al-Masar said Saddam Haftar, the deputy commander-in-chief, had intervened at the families' request. Deutsche Welle reported that Khalifa Haftar had reportedly overseen the operation that freed the women. Reuters assessed the photos released by the Libyan army as authentic, saying the faces and jewellery matched archival photos of the women.

Libya's divided government

Libya has been split since the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi. Two rival administrations contest power: the UN-recognised government of Abdelhamid Dbeibah in Tripoli, and a government in the east controlled by Khalifa Haftar and his circle. The Swiss foreign ministry (EDA) had not commented on the reports when they were published. Austria's foreign ministry had not issued a statement when Der Standard reported. In September, the Austrian ministry had said it had 'encouraging information' but that the complex release and handover process had not yet concluded positively.

Open questions

The sources have not identified the group that held the women or its demands. The handover to Austrian and Swiss representatives has not been reported as complete. The reporting so far rests on Reuters' anonymous sources, al-Masar's report and the video footage.