Global Affairs confirms Canadian taken hostage in Libya
Posted September 25, 2016 7:57 am.
Last Updated September 25, 2016 8:03 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) – Ottawa has confirmed that a Canadian is among three people taken hostage in Libya earlier this week.
Michael O’Shaughnessy with Global Affairs says the Canadian government is “diligently pursuing all appropriate channels to obtain more information about this troubling incident.”
He says the government will not comment further or release any information that may compromise efforts to secure the hostages’ release or endanger the safety of Canadian citizens.
Earlier in the week, a Libyan official said authorities were investigating the abduction of three foreigners working for a maintenance company near the border with Algeria.
Hassan Osman Eissa from the Ghat municipal council told The Associated Press on Thursday that the abductors are not al-Qaida members, as some reports stated, but rather “a local group of outlaws.”
The three foreigners seized _ two Italians and one Canadian _ were held at gunpoint Monday along the highway linking the southwestern cities of Ghat and Ubari.
