Algeria ambassador survives kidnapping attempt

Algeria’s ambassador to Libya Abdelhamid Bouzaher Thursday survived a kidnapping attempt planned by unknown armed people in his house in capital Tripoli not far from the embassy.

Immediately after the incident, the ambassador contacted the Algerian foreign ministry which used a military aircraft to bring him back to Algeria at around 2:30 am on Friday.

The ambassador was accompanied by his military attaché and another diplomat. Official Libyan security forces ensured their safety on their way to the Tripoli Airport to reach Algeria.

This comes as the foreign ministry had been warned of possible threats on the Algerian embassy in Libya.

Security chamber chief in Tripoli Hachem Bachr said the ambassador was not kidnapped as he left the embassy accompanied with his staff on Thursday following a big security threat.

“Libyan security forces received those information, five days ago,” he told Echorouk.

He added that the ambassador left Libya to Algeria following coordination with military intelligence.

According to sources, three organizations may have planned to target the Algerian diplomats in Tripoli. They are: Al-Qaeda which is strongly present in the Libyan lands, a mafia group operating in Libya for money and asking for ransom and extremist groups related to authorities at the new regime in Libya. They want to take revenge from Algeria as it does not encourage change in Libya.