This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/15/libya-jordanian-ambassador-tripoli-abducted-gunmen

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Jordanian ambassador to Tripoli abducted by gunmen Jordanian ambassador to Tripoli abducted by gunmen
(about 9 hours later)
Gunmen travelling in two cars on Tuesday abducted the Jordanian ambassador to Tripoli, Fawaz Aitan, in an attack that left his driver wounded, Libyan authorities have said. Jordan's ambassador to Libya has been kidnapped, underscoring the tenuous state of security in the country.
It is the latest incident in which Libyan leaders and foreign diplomats have been targeted in the north African country, three years after Nato-backed rebels ousted Muammar Gaddafi. Fawaz al-Itan was seized by masked gunmen who ambushed his vehicle as he drove to work in Tripoli's Mansour district. Eyewitnesses said kidnappers used two cars and a pick-up truck to block his vehicle, then opened fire, wounding his driver and a security guard. The ambassador was dragged away and the kidnappers later phoned his wife to tell her he was a hostage but unharmed.
"The Jordanian ambassador was kidnapped this morning. His convoy was attacked by a group of hooded men on board two civilian cars," ministry spokesman Said Lassoued said. "His convoy was attacked by a group of hooded men on board two civilian cars," said the Libyan foreign ministry spokesman Said Lassoued.
A security official said the ambassador's driver suffered gunshot wounds during the kidnapping. Separately, a local employee for the US embassy in Tripoli was reported kidnapped by local media having failed to arrive for work but later was reportedly discovered alive at a hospital.
The government in Amman confirmed the kidnapping. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Sabah Rafie said investigations were under way. News agencies reported that the ambassador's kidnappers had demanded Jordan release an undisclosed number of Islamists held in jails in Amman. Libya said it could not confirm the reports.
The abduction comes two days after Libya's prime minister Abdullah al-Thani stepped down, saying he and his family had been the victims of a "traitorous" armed attack the previous day. "We are doing all we can to rescue the ambassador," said the government spokesman Ahmed Lamin.
In January, gunmen kidnapped five Egyptian diplomats in Tripoli and held them for several hours. The abduction comes two months after two Egyptian diplomats and four embassy staff were kidnapped by gunmen in Tripoli, and later released when Cairo freed a Libyan militia leader it was holding on suspicion of ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
The US ambassador, Chris Stevens, and three other US citizens were killed in an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi on 11 September 2012, three months after a convoy carrying the British ambassador to Libya, Dominic Asquith, was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in Benghazi, wounding two guards. Itan is a popular member of Tripoli's diplomatic community, and hours after the abduction Britain's ambassador, Michael Aron, tweeted: "Strongly condemn kidnapping of Jordanian ambassador. Had dinner with him last night. My thoughts are with him, his wife and their driver."
Abductions and attacks on diplomats in a country beset by militia violence are common, but Tuesday's kidnapping is the first of an ambassador.
In 2012 the American ambassador Chris Stevens and three officials were killed when the US consulate in Benghazi was overrun, three months after two bodyguards were wounded in a rocket attack on Britain's former ambassador Dominic Asquith.
Last year saw a car bomb wreck the French embassy, the ambush of the EU ambassador's convoy and a rocket strike on the UAE embassy, while the former prime minister Ali Zaidan was briefly kidnapped by a Tripoli militia in October.
Diplomats in Tripoli already live in heavily fortified compounds, moving around in armoured cars. The original British embassy on a high bluff overlooking the port remains closed with staff relocated to a more secure city centre office block. "Our security is kept under constant review," said a Foreign Office spokesman. "We do not comment on security matters."
The attack comes with Libya's government in disarray. The newly installed prime minister, Abdullah al-Thinni, resigned on Sunday, citing a militia attack on his family, and the country's de facto head of state, the congress president Nuri Abu Sahmain, has left Libya, reportedly for medical treatment.
Prosectors are waiting to interview Abu Sahmain about a video in which he is seen, apparently detained, being accused by a militia leader of impropriety with two women at his home, a possible offence in the conservative Islamic country.
Royal Jordanian Airlines became the latest carrier to suspend flights to Libya on Tuesday following suspensions last month by British Airways, Al Italia, Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa after rockets struck Tripoli airport runway.
Congress is struggling to appoint a new government, with the majority of members no longer attending sessions, many complaining that parliament's mandate expired in February. Amid fears that the country may fragment, diplomats are urging all sides to support elections expected in the summer, with no date yet set.