Burkina Faso: concern after the disappearance of 04 Moroccan truckers

Last Saturday, four Moroccan truck drivers disappeared while crossing a particularly unstable frontal area between Burkina Faso and Niger, according to Moroccan diplomatic sources and a transport union.

The three trucks, one of whom was carrying a reserve driver, went without escort of Dori, in Burkina Faso, towards Téra, in Niger. This region is regularly the target of Islamist armed groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, which have greatly contributed to the destabilization of the Sahel over the past ten years.

The Moroccan Embassy in Burkina Faso has announced closely collaborating with local authorities to find the drivers. In this area where insecurity is omnipresent, the Burkinabé authorities generally organize convoys escorted to protect transporters. However, Moroccan trucks left without protection after waiting for a week to benefit from an escort, said El Charki El Hamchi, secretary general of the Moroccan carriers’ union.

These vehicles, in charge of infrastructure equipment, had left Casablanca several weeks ago in the direction of Niger. El Hamchi underlined the need to strengthen the safety of carriers operating in these high -risk areas, in particular at a time when trade involving Moroccan trucks increase in the Sahel region.

He also recalled that at the beginning of the month, another Moroccan convoy had been attacked at the border between Mali and Mauritania. Although this attack has made no victim, it illustrates the persistent dangers to which carriers are exposed in this unstable region. The research to find the missing drivers continues, while this case highlights growing security challenges in the Sahel.