Libya’s Tripoli-based central bank said on Sunday it would close all operations and not resume work until a senior banking official kidnapped earlier in the day was released.
The bank said: “An unknown party is behind the kidnapping of Musab Muslim, head of the IT department, on Sunday.”
He said in a statement: “The bank rejects the demagogic methods practiced by some outlaw parties.”
He added that “other bank officials were also threatened, and therefore it will suspend its operations until these practices stop and the relevant authorities intervene.”
Replace management with force
“Attempts to forcefully replace the bank’s top management could result in the North African country losing access to international financial markets,” Richard Norland, the US ambassador to Libya, said last week.
The US embassy said: “Norland met with the bank’s governor, Sadiq al-Kabir, to discuss concerns about armed groups gathering around the bank’s headquarters in Tripoli.”
“Disagreements over the distribution of Libya’s wealth must be resolved through transparent and inclusive negotiations to reach a unified budget based on consensus,” Norland said.
Libya’s Tripoli-based Government of National Unity is headed by interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who was installed through a U.N.-backed process in 2021.