Polish doctor freed after being kidnapped in Chad: FM

The Polish doctor who was kidnapped from a hospital in southern Chad last week has been freed, Poland's top diplomat said on Tuesday, adding that the woman was "safe and sound."

The Polish foreign ministry's building in Warsaw.

Photo: gov.pl

"The Polish citizen who was kidnapped in Chad has been released," Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski announced in a post on the X social media platform.

"She is safe and sound, of which I informed her loved ones by phone," he added, expressing gratitude to "the local forces and our French allies for their help."

Polska obywatelka porwana w Czadzie została uwolniona. Jest cała i zdrowa, co przekazałem telefonicznie jej najbliższym.
Dziękuję za działania siłom lokalnym oraz naszym francuskim sojusznikom. pic.twitter.com/6a1oj0m4kU

— Radosław Sikorski 🇵🇱🇪🇺 (@sikorskiradek) February 13, 2024

The woman was volunteering as a medical professional in the Central African nation. She was abducted by armed assailants posing as patients from the Saint-Michel Hospital run by Catholic charity Caritas at Dono Manga in southern Chad, according to a report by Polish state news agency PAP. 

Polish foreign ministry spokesman Paweł Wroński told reporters on Monday that the kidnapping appeared to be "a criminal act involving an attempt to extort a ransom."

- Wszystko wskazuje na to, że to zdarzenie o podłożu kryminalnym i chodzi o okup - tak o porwaniu Polki w Czadzie mówi rzecznik MSZ. W rozmowie z Polskim Radiem przekazał, że porywacze podawali się za pacjentów w szpitalu, w którym pracuje lekarka https://t.co/vcZcsJOzfW

— PolskieRadio24.pl (@PR24_pl) February 12, 2024

In 2021, a French national was kidnapped in eastern Chad and found alive two days later, the AP news agency has reported.

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Source: IAR, PAP, AP