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Libya’s central bank has announced the suspension of all its operations after a senior employee was kidnapped in the capital Tripoli.<\/p>\n
The bank denounced the abduction of its information technology director Musab Msallem in a statement on Sunday. <\/p>\n
They said Mr Msallem was taken from his home by an “unidentified party” on Sunday morning and that other employees have been threatened with kidnapping.<\/p>\n
The central bank says operations will not resume until Mr Msallem is released. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The central bank, which is independent but owned by the Libyan state, is the only internationally recognised depository for Libyan oil revenues – a vital economic income for a country torn for years between two rival governments in Tripoli and Benghazi.<\/p>\n
It comes a week after the central bank suffered a siege by armed men, according to AFP news agency. <\/p>\n
According to local media, cited by AFP, the armed men did so to force the resignation of the bank’s governor Seddik al-Kabir.<\/p>\n
In office since 2012, Mr Kabir has faced criticism over the management of oil resources and the state budget.<\/p>\n
Since the ousting and killing of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country has suffered from chronic insecurity<\/a>.<\/p>\n The country has been divided by power struggles and currently has two governments – a UN-recognised one based in Tripoli, and another in the country’s east backed by warlord Gen Khalifa Haftar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n