By Ajnadin Mustafa.
Tripoli, 18 May 2015:
Gunmen ambushed and seized a Turkish national in Sebha yesterday, wounding his Libyan driver in the . . .[restrict]attack. According to Turkish sources, Zaki Jamal Bey, 55, was later released unharmed and is now back at home in the town.
It is not known who was responsible or if any ransom was paid. He was seized when a white Chevrolet with tinted windows and no number plates forced his car to stop outside the town’s banking training centre. Two gunmen got out and shot his driver in the leg and then shot into the vehicle’s engine. The driver was taken to Sebha hospital to be treated.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Sadik Ghariani, who is still recognised as Libya’s Grand Mufti in most of the west and south of the country but not the east, has praised elders of the local Awlad Sulaiman tribe who have announced that they will no longer provide protection to members of the tribe who carry out robberies or other crimes.
In a statement issued yesterday he said their decision set an example to the result of the country which should be emulated. Commending the Awlad Sulaiman for their historic role in keeping the south of the country safe, he called on them to intensify these efforts and combat illegal immigration which, he said, threatened Libya’s security.
Despite his praise, the role of the Awlad Sulaiman since the revolution has been controversial because of their involvement in deadly clashes in Sebha with other local tribes and groups, notably the Qaddadfa and the Tebus. [/restrict]
