Gunmen abduct three Turks, one German worker in Libya
TRIPOLI – Anadolu Agency
An armed group has abducted four people working for a Turkish company in southwestern Libya, a local official said on Nov. 3, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.
An official from Ubari municipality, Omar Kuki, said the group seized three Turkish nationals and one German citizen who had been working for ENKA, an engineering and construction firm.
The reason behind the abduction remains unclear, Kuki said, adding that the Libyan security forces had launched an operation to find the missing workers.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and his Libyan counterpart Fayez al-Sarraj spoke on the phone late on Nov. 3 to discuss the situation of the abducted workers.
According to a statement from the Prime Ministry’s Press Office, Yıldırım told al-Sarraj that Turkey expects the three Turkish nationals to be found “as soon as possible.”
Al-Sarraj said Libya would use every means available to help rescue the Turkish workers.
Libya has been dogged by violence since 2011, when a bloody uprising led to the overthrow and death of longstanding President Muammar Gaddafi after more than four decades in power.
The ensuing power vacuum led to the emergence of several rival seats of government and a plethora of heavily-armed militia groups.
According to a report issued on Nov. 1 by the U.N. mission in Libya, at least 23 civilians were killed in various clashes throughout the North African country - including women and children - in October alone.
