By Libya Herald reporter.
Tripoli, 20 May 2015:
Mystery surrounds claims today by the government in Beida that 12 Jordanians have been kidnapped . . .[restrict]in Tripoli.
The government has put out a statement condemning the abductions and calling on UNSMIL to help secure the men’s release, but has not said who they are or when they were seized. It has, however, intimated that a militia is responsible and the spokeman for the Thinni government, Hatem Al-Oraibi, is reported saying that it is “sure” about the kidnappings.
However, in Tripoli there is next to no knowledge about them. A senior official in the capital called the Beida statement strange although, paradoxically, he then questioned the Beida statement’s veracity on the grounds that the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had not reported anyone being seized – as if it knows better what is happening in Tripoli than officials there.
In fact, the Jordanian news agency Petra has said that Amman is investigating the reports. Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Affairs spokeswoman Sabah Rafii was quoted today saying that contacts were underway to verify the news so that action could be taken.
“Protecting the Jordanian citizen is top priority,” she said.
If 12 Jordanians have been kidnapped, it would certainly be for political reasons rather than a financial ransom. It would not be the first time either. Jordan’s former ambassador, Fawwaz Al-Eitan, was seized in April last year and held for almost a month before being exchanged for a Libyan, Mohamed Dressi, who had been jailed in Jordan in 2007 for planning a bomb attack on Amman’s Queen Alia airport.
Currently, there is considerable hostility to Jordan within Libya Dawn over the position Amman has taken on Libya, with its firm support for the government in Beida and, in particular, for General Khalifa Hafter. The latter had talks with King Abdullah last month. Supporters in Libya of the Islamic State (IS) might also be expected to want to target Jordanians in view of Amman’s determination to crush the organisation. [/restrict]
