By Moutaz Ali.
Tripoli, 3 May 2014:
Former Zintan Congressman Mohamed Abdul Gader Betru was kidnapped last night near . . .[restrict]Tripoli.
He was seized by gunmen while his way to his home in Tripoli from Ghariat, near Mizdah, 300 kilometres south of the capital.
“He was in Ghariat to pay his condolences to one of his friends,” Mustafa Al-Barouni, the new mayor of Zintan told the Libya Herald. “On the way back, while driving in the dark, armed men stopped him and took him away.”
The kidnappers are said to be members of the Mashashia tribe from Al- Shagiga, not far from Ghariat.
“We’ve received messages from the kidnappers in Shagiga. They have demanded we release some of their people jailed in Zintan as the price for freeing Betru”, Albarouni said. “Negotiations have already started with them to resolve the matter.”
Betru resigned from Congress along with 22 other members three months ago in protest at it remaining in office after 7 February.
There is a long standing history of rivalry between Zintan and the Mashashia, which has been further complicated by the fact that the latter largely supported the Qaddafi regime during the revolution. Since then, there have been a number of clashes involving both. [/restrict]
