Libya’s central bank halts operations after employee kidnapped

Libya’s central bank has announced the suspension of all its operations after a senior employee was kidnapped in the capital Tripoli.

The bank denounced the abduction of its information technology director Musab Msallem in a statement on Sunday.

They said Mr Msallem was taken from his home by an “unidentified party” on Sunday morning and that other employees have been threatened with kidnapping.

The central bank says operations will not resume until Mr Msallem is released.

The central bank, which is independent but owned by the Libyan state, is the only internationally recognised depository for Libyan oil revenues – a vital economic income for a country torn for years between two rival governments in Tripoli and Benghazi.

It comes a week after the central bank suffered a siege by armed men, according to AFP news agency.

According to local media, cited by AFP, the armed men did so to force the resignation of the bank’s governor Seddik al-Kabir.

In office since 2012, Mr Kabir has faced criticism over the management of oil resources and the state budget.

Since the ousting and killing of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country has suffered from chronic insecurity.

The country has been divided by power struggles and currently has two governments – a UN-recognised one based in Tripoli, and another in the country’s east backed by warlord Gen Khalifa Haftar.