7 Indians Abducted In Libya; MEA Says In Touch With Authorities To Rescue Them

Seven Indians were abducted last month in the North African nation Libya. The Ministry of External Affairs has said that it was in touch with Libyan authorities to rescue them.

Image (ANI)

New Delhi: Seven Indians were abducted in Libya last month while they were on their way to the Tripoli Airport. The Ministry of External Affairs has said that they were in touch with the Libyan authorities to secure their release. The 7 people hail from Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh and according to a report by PTI, worked in construction and oil field supplies company. The incident happened on September 14 in a place called Asshwerif, when they were on their way to the airport to catch a flight to India. The Indian mission in Tunisia has reached out to Libyan authorities for help with rescuing the abducted persons. "The government is in touch with their family members and would like to assure them that we are making all possible efforts in consultation and coordination with Libyan authorities and the employer to trace our nationals and secure their release from captivity at the earliest. The employer has been contacted by the kidnappers and shown photographs as proof that the Indian nationals were safe and keeping well," said Anurag Srivastava, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson during a media briefing on Thursday. He added that the Indian embassy in Tunisia has reached out to the Libyan government authorities and also the international organisations present there, for their help in rescuing the Indian nationals. Ever since the fall of  Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the oil-rich country Libya in North Africa has been in unrest and the country has been witnessing wide-scale violence. According to reports in September 2015, the government for Indian had issued a travel advisor and has said that Indias should avoid travelling to Libya in view of the security situation there. In May 2016, India imposed a  travel ban due to the worsening of the situation in Libya. Srivastava in the press briefing said that the 'travel ban is still in force.' According to media reports, cases of abduction have happened before as well. A report by Scroll says that in 2014, 39 Indians were kidnapped by the Islamic State. Similarly 2015 and 2016, Indians were abducted and later released