Gunmen abduct Tunisian consulate staff in Libya

Armed gunmen have kidnapped ten members of staff at the Tunisian
consulate in Libya’s capital Tripoli, the Tunisian Foreign Ministry said.
A ministry statement said Friday’s incident was a “blatant attack on
Tunisian national sovereignty and a flagrant violation of international
laws and diplomatic norms.”
The statement said Tunisia’s government was monitoring the situation
and working to secure the release of the employees.
“All government services are following developments with interest
in coordination with Libyan, regional and international parties, to
liberate without delay the Tunisian mission team and guarantee its
safety,” the ministry statement read.
Al Jazeera’s Nazanine Moshiri said Tunisian officials were holding a
crisis meeting but were being reticent about who was behind the
kidnapping.
“Some people are saying that all of this connected to a man named
Walid Kalib, a member of Libya Dawn, which took control of Tripoli and
forced the government to move to Tobruk in the east,” Moshiri said.
“Walid Kalib was arrested here in Tunisia in May, he’s facing charges of
kidnapping.
“In May, more than 250 ordinary Tunisian were detained but then
released.”
Tunisia is one of the few countries which still has a mission in Tripoli,
which is controlled by a government not recognised by the UN.