2024-08-19 11:30:40
The central bank of Libya announced the suspension of all its procedures, after the “kidnapping” of one of its officials in Tripoli.
Mossab Msalem, head of the central bank’s IT department, was “abducted by an unknown group in front of his home,” the bank said in a statement on its Facebook page.
The central bank announced that it had “suspended all its procedures” adding that these they will not be repeated until Mr. Msalem is released.
Threat to employee safety
It denounced the “threats of kidnapping against other employees”, speaking of “sides outside the law” that “threaten the safety of its employees and the orderly operation of the banking sector”.
The kidnapping of the central bank official is noted a week after the gathering of dozens of people, some of whom were armed, in front of the bank’s headquarters in Tripoli to demand the dismissal of the governor, Sediq el Kebir.
The latter, who has been in this position since 2022, criticized for managing the budget and oil revenues in the hydrocarbon-rich country.
In a meeting he had on Tuesday with the US ambassador and special envoy to Libya, Richard Norland, the commander had spoken of “increasing threats to the security” of the institution and its employees.
For his part, Mr. Norland had described an ouster of the commander as “unacceptable”, saying that Libya could lose its access to the international financial markets, he told X.
Libya has been plunged into chaos since the fall and death of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. It is ruled by two rival governments: the government of national unity of Abdelhamid Dbeiba based in western Libya and recognized by the UN, and another in the east Libya, supported by Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
Sources: AMPE, AFP, Reuters