Gunmen abduct 50 Tunisians in western Libya

Fifty Tunisian workers were abducted Tuesday in Libya’s western city of Sabratha in response to the arrest in Tunisia last week of a Libyan official, security sources told Anadolu Agency.

“Gunmen loyal to Sabratha’s local council raided the homes of several Tunisian laborers who they abducted and took to an unknown location,” local sources in the city told Anadolu Agency.

On Saturday, Hussein al-Zawadi, head of the Sabratha local council, was reportedly arrested in Tunisia.

Three days later, according to sources in Sabratha, scores of Tunisian laborers were abducted by gunmen from the Fajr Libya militia, which is loyal to the Tripoli-based General National Congress.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Sabratha local council officials, for their part, declined to either confirm or deny the reports.