Libya’s central bank has halted all operations after its IT director, Musab Msallem, was kidnapped in Tripoli.
The bank condemned the abduction, which occurred on Sunday morning when Msallem was taken from his home by an “unidentified party.”
The bank also reported that other employees have been threatened with kidnapping.
Operations will remain suspended until Msallem is released.
The central bank, although independent, is state-owned and is the only internationally recognized repository for Libya’s crucial oil revenues.
This situation is particularly severe in a country divided between rival governments in Tripoli and Benghazi.
The kidnapping follows a recent siege of the central bank by armed men who reportedly aimed to force the resignation of the bank’s governor, Seddik al-Kabir.
In office since 2012, al-Kabir has faced criticism over the management of oil resources and the state budget.
Libya has been plagued by instability since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and remains divided between the UN-recognized government in Tripoli and an eastern administration backed by warlord Khalifa Haftar.
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