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Lebanon murder inquiry arrest after UK woman's death | Lebanon murder inquiry arrest after UK woman's death |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Police in Lebanon investigating the murder of a British woman who worked at the UK embassy in Beirut have arrested a man, a source has said. | Police in Lebanon investigating the murder of a British woman who worked at the UK embassy in Beirut have arrested a man, a source has said. |
Rebecca Dykes's body was found on the side of a motorway on Saturday. | Rebecca Dykes's body was found on the side of a motorway on Saturday. |
She had been strangled, the BBC was told by police sources, who said the suspect worked as a taxi driver. | She had been strangled, the BBC was told by police sources, who said the suspect worked as a taxi driver. |
Her family said in a statement: "We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. We are doing all we can to understand what happened." | Her family said in a statement: "We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. We are doing all we can to understand what happened." |
They added: "We request that the media respect our privacy." | They added: "We request that the media respect our privacy." |
Ms Dykes, who is believed to have been 30, had been working in Beirut as the programme and policy manager for the Department for International Development since January 2017. | |
It is thought she had spent Friday evening at a going-away party for a colleague in the popular Gemmayzeh district of Beirut, the BBC's Middle East correspondent Martin Patience said. | |
After leaving the bar at about midnight it appears she was abducted. Her body was found close to a motorway on the outskirts of the city. | After leaving the bar at about midnight it appears she was abducted. Her body was found close to a motorway on the outskirts of the city. |
The suspect was arrested in the early hours of Monday morning. | |
An official told the Reuters and AFP news agencies the preliminary investigation had showed Ms Dykes's killing "was not politically motivated". | |
Who was Rebecca Dykes? | |
Prior to her posting in Beirut, Ms Dykes worked with the Foreign Office as a policy manager for its Libya team and as an Iraq research analyst. | |
According to her LinkedIn profile, she studied anthropology at the University of Manchester, and had a Masters in International Security and Global Governance from Birkbeck, University of London. | |
She was a former pupil of Malvern Girls' College and Rugby School, and had also taught English at a Chinese international school. | |
Ms Dykes had reportedly been due to fly back to the UK for Christmas. She says on social media that she is from London. | |
Local police say a second post-mortem examination is to be carried out later. | Local police say a second post-mortem examination is to be carried out later. |
Hugo Shorter, the British Ambassador to Lebanon, tweeted that the whole embassy was "deeply shocked" and "saddened" by the news. | Hugo Shorter, the British Ambassador to Lebanon, tweeted that the whole embassy was "deeply shocked" and "saddened" by the news. |
A DfID spokesman said: "Our thoughts are with Becky's family and friends at this very upsetting time. | |
"There is now a police investigation and the Foreign Office is providing consular support to Becky's family and working with the local authorities‎." |