By Jamal Adel.
Tripoli, 3 April 2014:
The killing of a Jumhouriya Bank staff member in Sebha has triggered a nationwide . . .[restrict]strike by employees demanding better security
Salim Abubaker Al-Qaddafi was shot dead yesterday morning in front of the Jumhuriya Bank in the southern city by gunmen who then fled.
“Some men came to the bank in morning and asked about the victim Al-Gaddafi and then went out. A few minutes later the victim arrived but the gunmen were waiting for him outside. They opened fire and shot him dead, and fled,” Jamal Al-Zaroug, a fellow member of staff at the Sebha branch of the Gumhouriya Bank, told the Libya Herald.
“For more than seven years, Al-Gaddafi was one of the best and hardest-working employees [at the bank],” Zaroug added.
The murder of Al-Gaddafi is said to be political. Although a member of the Qaddafa tribe, he supported the revolution from the beginning, to the anger of other local tribe members. This is believed to be the reason for his death.
Immediately after the killing, Sebha staff went on strike in condemnation of the murder. “We are on strike for three days, expressing solidarity with the victim and condemnation of this incident,” said Al-Zaroug, insisting: “We must have had a better security protection as employees at the Jumhouriya Bank.”Other banks in Sebha and elsewhere in the south are also on strike both in sympathy with the victim and demanding better security.
Today, a partial strike spread to Tripoli. There were protests in Martyrs Square outside the bank’s head office. It was impossible to stop all work but colleagues would not be serving the public, said one employee.
The strike is expected to continue tomorrow.
The bank’s chairman, Musbah Alkari, is expected to meet with the strikers tomorrow to discuss what can be done to improve security. [/restrict]
