TRIPOLI Masked gunmen kidnapped Jordan’s ambassador as he travelled to work in the Libyan capital on Tuesday, shooting at his car and wounding his driver, the Tripoli and Amman governments said.
It is the latest incident in which Libyan leaders and foreign diplomats have been targeted in the increasingly lawless North African country, three years after Nato-backed rebels ousted autocratic leader Moamer Kadhafi.
“The Jordanian ambassador was kidnapped this morning. His convoy was attacked by a group of hooded men on board two civilian cars,” Libyan foreign ministry spokesman Said Lassoued told AFP.
A security official in Tripoli said the ambassador’s driver suffered gunshot wounds during the kidnapping.
The government in Amman confirmed the kidnapping.
“Jordan has initial information that the Jordanian ambassador in Libya, Fawaz Aitan, was kidnapped,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Sabah Rafie said, adding that it was investigating.
Prime Minister Abdullah Nsur called on the Libyan authorities to do their best to secure his release.
“According to the information we have, unknown masked civilians kidnapped Aitan this morning as he headed to work,” he told an emergency meeting of Jordan’s parliament.
Nsur said the driver suffered gunshot wounds and was in a serious condition.
“The kidnappers are responsible for the safety of Aitan and the government will do what it takes to free him,” said Nsur.
“We call on the Libyan government and Libyan people to work on preserving his life and freeing him.”
‘Dangerous turn’ -
Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh indicated that Jordan had yet to receive any demands from the kidnappers, whose actions he said represented a “dangerous turn”.
“We realise that the security situation in Libya is very difficult. Until now we did not receive any additional information from the kidnappers,” he said, quoted by the state-run Petra news agency.
National carrier Royal Jordanian said it cancelled Tuesday’s scheduled flight to Tripoli following the ambassador’s abduction.
“RJ is examining the situation and in touch with the Libyan authorities to take a suitable decision about operating flights to Libya,” said a statement from the airline, which also operates flights to the Libyan cities of Benghazi and Misrata.
The abduction comes two days after Libya’s prime minister Abdullah Al Thinni stepped down within a week of being appointed, saying he and his family had been the victims of a “traitorous” armed attack.
Last month, an employee at Tunisia’s embassy in Tripoli was kidnapped.
In January, gunmen kidnapped five Egyptian diplomats in the Libyan capital and held them for several hours.
And on September 11, 2012, an attack on the US consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi, the cradle of the 2011 revolt, killed US ambassador Chris Stevens and three other US citizens.
It came 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.
Libya has seen near daily attacks in recent months, particularly in the restive east, as well as a challenge from rebels who blockaded vital oil terminals for nine months, and a growing crisis stemming from the interim parliament’s decision to extend its mandate.
With the country awash with weapons, the authorities have struggled to establish security by integrating militias that fought Kadhafi’s forces into a regular army or police force.
