Libya: Egyptian diplomats kidnapped hours after Libyan rebel commander arrested in Egypt

A spokesman for Libya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Saturday that five Egyptian diplomats have been abducted by unidentified gunmen overnight in the capital Tripoli.

The armed men first kidnapped the administrative attaché on Friday evening, then four more diplomats, including the cultural attaché, were separately kidnapped on Saturday morning. The ambassador is not among the kidnapped, a spokesman of Egyptian MFA confirmed.

The kidnappings came hours after the Egypt-based coordinator of the Libyan Revolutionaries Operation Room (ROR), Shaaban Hadeya, also known as Abu Obaida al-zawy, had been arrested by Egyptian authorities in the coastal city of Alexandria. ROR played an instrumental role in the overthrow of long-time dictator Moammar Al Qadhafi in 2011.

A member of the ROR, Hamad Boqrein, stated that the arrest was an “arbitrary measure” by Egyptian authorities, explaining that Hadeya was not charged with any crime, and calling for his immediate release.

The Libyan Parliament condemned the detention of Hadeya and requested the Libyan government and the Libyan ambassador in Cairo to act swiftly to release him. The parliament requested the Egyptian government to disclose the reasons for this arrest.

In statements to AFP, A spokesman for the ROR condemned the kidnapping of Hadeya saying that “members of the ousted Libyan regime are at large in Egypt while revolutionaries are arrested.”

The ROR had been previously accused of kidnapping the Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan. It had been tasked with maintaining security in Tripoli. However, following popular demands, it was later annexed to the Libyan army based on a decree by the National Libyan Conference (Parliament).