Libya central bank ‘suspends all operations’ after official abducted

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Tripoli, Libya — The Central Bank of Libya said on Sunday it was “suspending all operations” after a bank official was abducted in the capital Tripoli, in a statement posted on social media.

Musab Msallem, head of information technology at the Central Bank, “was kidnapped by an unidentified group from his house this morning,” said the statement.

The bank said it would “not resume operations” until Msallem is released, adding that other executives were also “threatened with abduction”.

It called for an “end to these practices” and blamed “unlawful parties” that “threaten the safety of its employees and the continuity of the banking sector’s work”.

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The bank provided no further details about the kidnapping.

Sunday’s abduction came a week after the central bank’s headquarters in Tripoli was laid siege to by armed men.

Local media said they did so in an attempt to force the resignation of the bank’s governor, Seddik al-Kabir.

US ambassador Richard Norland said attempts to oust Kabir were “unacceptable”, warning that replacing him “by force can result in Libya losing access to international financial markets”.

Norland, in a post on social media platform X, said the confrontation in Tripoli “highlights the ongoing risks posed by the political stalemate in Libya”.

Following the siege, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said the bank played an important role in the country’s financial stability.

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In office since 2012, Kabir has faced criticism over the management of Libya’s oil resources and the state budget, including from figures close to Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah.

Home to 6.8 million people, Libya has struggled to recover from years of conflict after the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

It remains divided between a UN-recognised government based in the capital Tripoli and led by Dbeibah and a rival administration in the east, backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

Although relative calm has returned in recent years, clashes still periodically break out between Libya’s myriad armed groups.

Sunday’s abduction came as the latest of a series of events as rising tensions between different factions have stirred fears of a broader escalation in recent weeks.