Maltese Worker Kidnapped in Libya
Libyan rebels have kidnapped a Maltese worker on the outskirts of Tripoli, Malta's foreign office said Friday.
"I can confirm that we have been informed about the abduction. That is all I can say for now," a spokesman for the Foreign Office in Valletta told Agence France-Presse.
The kidnapped man was later named by another source as Martin Galea, 40, a health and safety professional who worked for an oil and gas company.
Libyan militia snatched him on July 17 as he was on his way to work and he is now being held in the west of the troubled country, the source told AFP.
Various attempts to contact Galea via the Libyan foreign ministry have failed, the source said.
Libya has been awash with weapons since the end of the uprising against Moammar Gadhafi and has been gripped by increasing lawlessness.
Diplomats in Tripoli say militias who took part in the uprising now often carry out kidnappings to blackmail countries into releasing Libyans they hold.
Previous abductions this year saw a Tunisian diplomat and an embassy staffer kidnapped, as well as the Jordanian ambassador in a separate incident.
Source: Agence France Presse
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