2 Chadians arrested in Libya for impersonating country’s ambassador

Authorities in eastern Libya have arrested two Chadian nationals for posing as the Chadian ambassador and a foreign diplomat.

They were arrested by police forces in the town of Al-Baythan, south of Ajdabiya city – the site where a number of bodies, which bore the signs of torture, were dumped near a roadside last year.

The two were charged with impersonating their country’s ambassador and Charge d’Affaires in Ajdabiya after the foreign ministry of the eastern government in Bayda city realised their fraudulent behaviour.

According to local sources, the individuals were staying in Bayda and had met with Foreign Minister Mohammed Dayari a number of times using their fake identities.

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After working in Bayda for a lengthy period, they then moved to Ajdabiya and set up a fake consulate. It was only after Dayari contacted the Chadian foreign ministry to verify their identities did they realise they were fraudsters. The Chadian government denied any presence of their diplomats in eastern Libya and confirmed that their consulate was in the capital Tripoli.

The arrested Chadians were also charged with supplying the local Chadian community with fake IDs and documents.

According to local media reports from Ajdabiya, the two Chadians had been working as fake diplomats in Libya for three years raising a number of questions regarding the security situation in the country and just how many others in Libya’s fractured political circles are legitimate.