Libya’s central bank in Tripoli has announced on Sunday, the suspension of all of its operations, highlighting that the bank would remain closed until one of its senior official, who was kidnapped is released.
The central bank, which is internationally recognised as the depository for Libya’s vital oil revenues, operates in a country long divided between rival governments in Tripoli and Benghazi. The bank revealed that Musaab Muslam, head of its information technology department, was abducted by an unidentified group.
In a statement, the bank condemned the use of lawless tactics by certain parties and expressed that other officials had also faced threats, leading to the decision to suspend operations until these actions are halted and the relevant authorities step in.
Richard Norland, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, had previously warned that any attempts to forcibly change the bank’s leadership could lead to Libya losing access to international financial markets.
Norland had recently met with the bank’s governor, Sadiq Kabir, to discuss the growing concerns over armed groups surrounding the bank’s headquarters in Tripoli.
The U.S. embassy reported that Norland emphasised the need for Libya’s wealth distribution disputes to be resolved through transparent and inclusive negotiations aimed at creating a unified, consensus-based budget.
Since the 2011 NATO-supported uprising that toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has struggled with instability and was split in 2014 between warring factions in the east and west.
On August 9, clashes between two armed factions in Tajoura, an eastern suburb of Tripoli, resulted in at least nine deaths and 16 injuries. The Government of National Unity in Tripoli, led by interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, was established in 2021 through a U.N.-backed process.
In contrast, Eastern Libya, where the national parliament is based, is largely controlled by military commander Khalifa Haftar. Despite a truce in 2020 and ongoing efforts to reunify the country’s institutions, a lasting political solution has remained out of reach.
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