An Australian woman kidnapped with her doctor husband in Burkina Faso by a group affiliated to al-Qaeda has been freed, neighbouring Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou says.
Issoufou presented Jocelyn Elliott at a news conference in Dosso, southwestern Niger on Saturday and said authorities were intensifying efforts to secure the release of her husband.
West Australian Dr Ken Elliott and his wife, both aged in their 80s, were abducted following attacks in the Burkina Faso capital of Ouagadougou by suspected Islamic extremists on January 15.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb said on Friday it had kidnapped the couple and would release the woman unconditionally due to public pressure and guidance from al-Qaeda leaders not to involve women in war.
The circumstances of her release and how she arrived in Niger were not immediately clear.