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TRIPOLI. — Armed gunmen have kidnapped 10 members of staff at the Tunisian consulate in Libya’s capital Tripoli, the Tunisian Foreign Ministry said. A ministry statement said yesterday’s incident was a “blatant attack on Tunisian national sovereignty and a flagrant violation of international laws and diplomatic norms.”
The statement said Tunisia’s government was monitoring the situation and working to secure the release of the employees.
“All government services are following developments with interest in co-ordination with Libyan, regional and international parties, to liberate without delay the Tunisian mission team and guarantee its safety,” the ministry statement read.
Tunis did not say who had seized its consul staff in Tripoli, which is controlled by the Libya Dawn alliance.
Tunisia is one of the few countries which still has a mission in Tripoli, which is controlled by a government not recognised by the international community.
The abduction of Tunisian staff in the country’s west came as seven people were shot dead in the eastern city of Derna, while marching against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group,
The protesters were marching against the group’s main base in Derna after Friday prayers when gunmen shot at the crowd, killing several people, and wounding about 30.
ISIL controls territory in the eastern Libyan cities of Derna and Sirte. — Al Jazeera/Agencies.
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