German aid worker Jorg Lange was freed on Saturday more than four and a half years after Islamic extremists kidnapped him in the West African country of Niger, according to Help, the German aid organisation where he works.
The group’s statement did not provide details of how or where Lange, a 63-year-old engineer, was released.
“We are very relieved and grateful that our colleague Jorg Lange can return to his family after more than four and a half years,” said Bianca Kaltschmitt, the organisation’s managing director.
Lange, the Niger country director for Help, was kidnapped by the Islamic State group in Niger’s Tillaberi region in April 2018. Help said Lange has dedicated more than three decades of his life to humanitarian assistance.
For seven years jihadi groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group in the Sahel, the vast expanse south of the Sahara Desert, have been been using hostages held for ransom as a way to fund operations and expand their presence.