The UN Special Envoy to Niger, Canadian Robert Fowler, who had been abducted, along with his aide, Louis Guay, back in December, has been freed. The abductors were originally thought to have been Tuareg rebels in northern Niger, but Fowler and Guay, along with two other hostages, were released by the terrorist group known Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The circumstances surrounding the capture remain unclear — Niger’s president still thinks the Tuareg rebels were responsible — but it’s very good news that this veteran diplomat will be returning to his family in Ottawa.