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Abducted Egyptian diplomats freed in Libya Libyan militia commander released in swap for abducted Egyptians
(about 7 hours later)
Two Egyptian diplomats and an embassy staff member abducted in Libya have been freed after Cairo released a Libyan militia leader who was arrested last week. In a co-ordinated swap, Egypt has released a Libyan militia commander detained over suspected links to the Muslim Brotherhood while six abducted Egyptians, including two diplomats, have been released in Libya.
The releases took place late on Sunday, according to an Egyptian security official. Three Egyptian diplomats still held captive were also expected to be released soon, he said. The six Egyptians – two diplomats, three embassy staffers and one Egyptian resident of Libya – were seized from their homes in a wave of attacks late on Friday and early on Saturday in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.
The six Egyptians – five diplomats and the one embassy staff member – were seized late on Friday and early on Saturday in the Libyan capital, Tripoli. No one claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. Subsequently, one of the purported kidnappers – who only identified himself as a "revolutionary" – said in a telephone call to the al-Arabiya TV network that the Egyptians would not be freed until the Islamic militia commander, Shaaban Hadiya, was released by Egypt.
The abductions came hours after Libya's state news agency reported that the Egyptian authorities had arrested Shaaban Hadiya, the commander of a militia known as Revolutionaries Operation Room. The militia claims to answer to the Libyan army but is widely seen as operating independently. Hadiya is the head of the militia known as Revolutionaries Operation Room, which claims to answer to the Libyan army but is widely seen as operating independently. Last year the Libyan government blamed the group for the abduction of the prime minister, Ali Zidan, who was briefly kidnapped by gunmen in Tripoli.
Last year, the Libyan government blamed the group for the abduction of the prime minister, Ali Zidan, who was briefly kidnapped by gunmen in Tripoli. On Saturday the militia's spokesman, Adel al-Ghiryani, said that Hadiya, also known as Abu Ubeida al-Libi, had travelled to Egypt for medical reasons but was detained there.
The three released Egyptians were now back at their homes in Tripoli, said the Libyan interior ministry spokesman Said al-Asswad. The Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Badr Abdelattie attributed their release to official and "unofficial" mediation. He did not elaborate. Ghiryani also denied his group was involved in the kidnapping of the Egyptians.
On Saturday a militia spokesman, Adel al-Ghiryani, said the group's commander had travelled to Egypt for medical reasons and that he had no idea why Hadiya, also known as Abu Ubeida al-Libi, had been detained. He also denied that his group was involved in the kidnapping of the Egyptian diplomats. An Egyptian security official said authorities had detained Hadiya because he was the guest of the country's Muslim Brotherhood group, which has been declared a terrorist organisation in the wake of the military coup that removed Mohammed Morsi, who hails from the Brotherhood, from power last July. The official did not elaborate and spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Kidnappings are common in Libya, where the overthrow of the dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 left a security vacuum. Egypt's interior ministry only said that Hadiya was being held because his residency permit had expired.
Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Badr Abdelattie attributed the release of the Egyptians to official and "unofficial" mediation. He did not elaborate.
Kidnappings are rife in Libya, where the 2011 overthrow of the dictator Muammar Gaddafi left a security vacuum that has since been filled by rebels-turned-militiamen in the absence of a unified military and central police force.