Libya central bank halts operations over employee abduction

The Central Bank of Libya on Sunday said it was suspending operations after one of its employees was abducted.

The bank said that its head of information technology Musab Msallem "was kidnapped by an unidentified group from his house this morning" in the capital, Tripoli.

Libya has seen rising tensions between different armed factions in recent weeks.

What else did Libya's Central Bank say?

The Central Bank said it would "not resume operations" until Msallem was released.

It said that other executives were also "threatened with abduction."

In its statement, the bank denounced what it called "unlawful parties" that "threaten the safety of its employees and the continuity of the banking sector's work."

The statement did not provide further details on the kidnapping.

Bank abduction follows siege

The abduction on Sunday comes a week after gunmen laid siege to the Central Bank of Libya's headquarters in Tripoli.

Local media reported that the attackers demanded the resignation of the bank's governor, Seddik al-Kabir.

US ambassador Richard Norland condemned the attempts to have Kabir removed as "unacceptable" and warned that his replacement by force could "result in Libya losing access to international financial markets."

Kabir has been in office since 2012. He has faced criticism over the management of Libya's oil resources and the state budget.

Libya is divided between a UN-recognized government in Tripoli under Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah and a rival administration in eastern Libya, where parliament is based, underpinned by military commander Khalifa Hifter. 

sdi/msh (AFP, dpa)