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Egyptian diplomat kidnapped in Tripoli
[Libya Herald] An Egyptian diplomat has been kidnapped this evening in Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
, a source close to the Tripoli Security Directorate has confirmed to the Libya Herald.

No details had yet been made public, the source said, in case these damaged the investigations.

The Consul at the Egyptian embassy declined to comment when contacted by the Libya Herald. The kidnapped man, however, has been widely-reported to be the embassy's administrative attache, although this has not yet been officially confirmed.

The kidnapping is believed to be in retaliation for the arrest in Egypt yesterday of the head of the Libyan Revolutionaries Operation Room (LROR), Shaaban Masoud Khalifa, also known as Abu Obaida Al-Zawy.

He was tossed in the calaboose
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
last night in Alexandria on suspicion of being affiliated to Al-Qaeda, according to the Egyptian media. He was seized by the Egyptian authorities, after they apparently received information that he was entering the country.

Zawy was reportedly arrested in a student building in Alexandria. Media sources said that he was in the city to take exams related to Islamic studies.

The President of the General National Congress (GNC), Nuri Abu Sahmain, today called upon the the Egyptian government, head of intelligence Salem Hassi and the Libyan Ambassador in Cairo, Mohammed Faiz Jibril, to ensure the release of Zawy. He also demanded that the Egyptian authorities explain the reasons for the arrest.

Abu Sahmain set up the LROR l;sat year, while briefly holding the post of Commander-in-Chief. The LROR was implicated in the kidnapping of Prime Minister Ali Zeidan
... served as a diplomat for Libya during the 1970s, serving in India under Ambassador Mohammed Magariaf. Both men defected in 1980 and went on to form the National Front for the Salvation of Libya. Zeidan spent nearly three decades in exile in Geneva after the defection. During the revolution Zeidan served as the National Transitional Council's Europe envoy, and is credited as having played a key role in persuading French President Nicolas Sarkozy to support the anti-Qadaffy forces...
in October last year from the Corinthia Hotel.

The Sollum land border between Egypt and Libya was closed today, apparently to coincide with the third anniversary of the Egyptian revolution.
Posted by: Fred 2014-01-25
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=384275