By Libya Herald reporters.
Tripoli, 4 February 2017:
The released mayor of Traghen had an emotional reunion with family and friends today after being held by kidnappers for over three months.
The local government ministry which confirmed that Mohamed Tahir Bakouri had been freed gave no other information about his release or his state of health.
Bakouri was seized at his farm just outside the town on 1 November. Traghen is an oasis town 125 kilometres south of Sebha.
It was unclear why the mayor was abducted but kidnapping for ransom is common in the south, as it is now in Tripoli. At the time of Bakhouri’s disappearance there had reportedly already been 128 other kidnappings in and around Sebha in the course of 2016.
Bakouri’s freedom came 24 hours after the release in Tripoli of the head of the Government of National Accord’s budget department. Unidentified gunmen kidnapped Nouri Embaya from his office on Wednesday. His ministry gave no details other than that he had been freed.
