Mysterious fate of an Algerian family “detained” in Tripoli

The abrupt phone call from an official of the Algerian Consulate in Tripoli, last Sunday night, sowed terror and anxiety in the hearts of a family hailing from Constantine namely the Khatla family as a result of the sudden disappearance, in still unclear circumstances, of four members of their family in the center of Tripoli, the Libyan capital.

After checking out with Algerian diplomatic channels and after further in-depth information about the case, it appeared that these four people, a couple whose husband is Palestinian, his mother and his brother are being detained by Libyan security services and not by militiamen or terrorists and that they are in good health and that they can get back home at the end of the ongoing investigation.

Mrs Hawa Khatla, married since 2012 and living in Tripoli, recently returned to Constantine in eastern Algeria for a holiday, then she went back to Libya, but this time accompanied by her mother and brother by road through Tunisia.

Last Sunday, a group of strangers broke into their Tripoli home and forcibly took them to the barracks on the outskirts of Tripoli.

The husband, wanting to learn about the fate of his family members, has also disappeared, according to latest reports.