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UAE officer arrested in Libya over espionage allegations

November 12, 2015 at 4:42 pm

The senior leader of Libya Dawn, the militia group allied to Libya’s General National Congress in Tripoli, has revealed that his forces have arrested a UAE officer over espionage accusations, Anadolu reported yesterday.

Speaking to Anadolu, Libya Dawn leader Sha’ban Hadiyyah said: “Our forces arrested the officer Yousef Saqr Al-Wilayati in Mueitiqa airport in Tripoli.”

Local Libyan television stations reported the Libyan Public Prosecutor in Tripoli as saying that the officer was taking part “in an intelligence mission inside Libya”.

At the time of publications, the whereabouts of the officer remain unknown and the UAE has not yet commented on the news of his arrest.

In August and September last year, the UAE arrested a number of Libyan businessmen, some of whom were later released and some of whom remain in custody. The General National Congress called for the UAE to release them immediately.

Media report said that the UAE arrested these people over their support for the General National Congress, which includes Islamist factions linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Libya Dawn has previously accused the UAE of attacking a number of its forces in partnership with militias loyal to renegade Libyan Colonel Khalifa Haftar, who is supported by the West.