After a senior employee was abducted in the country’s capital, Tripoli, the central bank of Libya declared that all of its activities would be suspended.
In a statement released on Sunday, the bank condemned the kidnapping of Musab Msallem, its director of information technology.They claimed that on Sunday morning, a “unidentified party” kidnapped Mr. Msallem from his home and threatened to kidnap other employees.
“Following the kidnapping of its director, Libya’s central bank suspends operations.”
According to the central bank, activities won’t start up again until Mr. Msallem is freed.
The central bank, which is independent but owned by the Libyan state, is the only internationally recognised depository for Libyan oil revenues – a vital economic income for a country torn for years between two rival governments in Tripoli and Benghazi.
It comes a week after the central bank suffered a siege by armed men, according to AFP news agency.
According to local media, cited by AFP, the armed men did so to force the resignation of the bank’s governor Seddik al-Kabir.In office since 2012, Mr Kabir has faced criticism over the management of oil resources and the state budget.Since the ousting and killing of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country has suffered from chronic insecurity .
The country has been divided by power struggles and currently has two governments – a UN-recognised one based in Tripoli, and another in the country’s east backed by warlord Gen Khalifa Haftar.
(BBC)
