Gunmen abduct Tunisian consulate staff in Libya

Group kidnaps 10 diplomatic staff at Tunisian consulate in Tripoli, which is controlled by government not recognised UN.

 

Tunisia is one of the few countries which still has a mission in Tripoli, which is ruled by the Libya Dawn alliance [Getty]

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.
Anti-ISIL protests
Meanwhile, seven people were shot dead in the eastern city of Derna while marching against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.
The protesters were marching against the group's main base in Derna after Friday prayers when gunmen shot at the crowd, killing several people, and wounding about 30.
The demonstrators were angered at the amount of foreigners coming to join the armed group, residents told the Reuters news agency.
Nine suspected ISIL members were killed during separate clashes on Friday with other armed groups in Derna, a source in one of those movements said.
A war plane taking off from a base in the eastern city of Benghazi held by the official government later attacked Derna port, a military spokesman said. The attack came after ISIL had tried to ship out wounded in boats, a resident said.
The fighting in Derna, a long-time gathering point for hardliners, first erupted on Tuesday after a leader in the Majlis al-Shura group was killed.
Majlis al-Shura, which enjoys local support going back to the revolution, responded by declaring holy war against Islamic State.
ISIL has seized territory in the eastern Libyan cities of Derna and Sirte as the country's security situation descends in to chaos.
The armed group is at war with both the Tripoli-based, and Tobruk-based governments of Libya.