The seven Indian nationals kidnapped in Libya last month have been released by their abductors and handed over to their employer, the external affairs ministry said on Monday.
The seven men are in good health and formalities are being completed to facilitate their return to India, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry reiterated that a ban on the travel of Indians to Libya, irrespective of purpose, has been in place since May 2016 because of the security situation there.
The circumstances of the release of the seven Indians, including whether any ransom was paid to their abductors, couldn’t immediately be ascertained. It also couldn’t be ascertained who had kidnapped the men. No group or individual has so far claimed responsibility.
On October 8, the external affairs ministry confirmed the seven Indians had been abducted at Asshwerif in Libya on September 14, while they were travelling to Tripoli airport to catch a flight back to India. The men belong to Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, and were working for a construction and oilfield supplies company.
The men were released on Sunday and India’s ambassador to Tunisia, Puneet Roy Kundal, spoke to them on phone after they were handed over by the abductors to the company that had employed them, Al Shola Al Mudia.
{{/usCountry}}The men were released on Sunday and India’s ambassador to Tunisia, Puneet Roy Kundal, spoke to them on phone after they were handed over by the abductors to the company that had employed them, Al Shola Al Mudia.
{{/usCountry}}“All of them are in good health and are currently staying in the company’s premises in Brega,” the ministry said.
“We convey our sincere thanks to the Libyan authorities and the tribal elders from the region for their steadfast cooperation in securing the release of our nationals unharmed,” it added.
The Indian embassy in Tunisia handles matters related to the welfare of Indian nationals in Libya. India’s relations with Libya were snapped after the fall of the Muammar Gaddafi regime in 2011, and both countries currently don’t have a representative in each other’s capitals.
India made an attempt to re-establish diplomatic ties when Union minister Kiren Rijiju made an official visit to Tripoli in May 2018. It was reported then that there were some 1,500 Indians who had stayed on in Libya despite advisories issued by the external affairs ministry.