Libyan official says deputy foreign minister freed after gunmen kidnapped him in eastern Libya

Published May 21, 2015

A security official says the deputy foreign minister of Libya's internationally-recognized government has been released after being kidnapped a day earlier.

The official, speaking Monday on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists, said gunmen disguised in police uniforms had seized Hassan al-Sagheer from his hotel in the eastern city of Bayda.

Libya's elected parliament was forced to relocate to the far-eastern city of Tobruk after Islamist-allied militias seized the capital, Tripoli, and second-largest city of Benghazi. The internationally-recognized Cabinet meets in Bayda.

Meanwhile, the United Nations says Libyan negotiators have reconvened in Geneva for talks to resolve the country's political and security crisis.

Libya is undergoing its worst spasm of violence since the ouster and killing of long-time dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

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https://www.foxnews.com/world/libyan-official-says-deputy-foreign-minister-freed-after-gunmen-kidnapped-him-in-eastern-libya