A Polish doctor kidnapped in Chad has been freed and is "safe and sound," Poland’s foreign minister said Tuesday.
The woman had been volunteering at the Saint-Michel Hospital in the Central African nation's Tandjile region, where kidnappings for ransom are common. Attackers pretending to be patients abducted her and a Mexican doctor, private Polish broadcaster Polsat News reported.
A Polish flag flies near the spire of the Palace of Culture and Sciences, Warsaw, Poland, Feb. 12, 2022. (Photo by STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The other doctor escaped during an altercation between the abductors and Chad’s security forces, while the Polish woman was taken away, a fellow doctor told The Associated Press. Chadian and French forces launched a search for her.
Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski posted a video on social media in which he informed the woman's family of her release. He said she was getting a medical evaluation and would return soon to Poland.
"I would like to thank the local forces and our French allies for their actions," the minister added.