Head of the Silphium Foundation for Studies and Research, Jamal Shallouf, accused the Libyan Government of National Unity (GNU) of not being able to protect its staff in Tripoli from the violations committed by armed militias, the latest of which was the kidnapping of Ridha Freitees, Head of GNU office in Benghazi.
“The appropriate response to kidnapping Ridha Freitees by a militia in Tripoli is to stop dealing permanently with the Presidential Council and GNU until they leave Tripoli and move to the agreed-upon headquarters in Sirte,” Shallouf said on his official Facebook account.
“The presence of the executive authority in Tripoli has become a ‘militia trap’ for hunting those who do not agree with militia acts,” Shallouf added.
The Government is unable to protect even its most senior officials from militias and terrorists who fled to Tripoli from Benghazi, Derna, Ajdabiya, and the South, he said.
Freitees disappeared during his return from work with his colleague, Muhammad al-Maghrabi, before they arrived at their place of residence at the Mahari Hotel in Tripoli, said an official source at the Interior Ministry.
“Freitees had arrived in Tripoli on Saturday from Benghazi, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister, Hussein al-Qutrani, and they stayed at the Mahari Hotel,” the source pointed out, noting that the kidnapping incident occurred Tuesday afternoon.