Libya: Its now four Indians kidnapped in Libya, with two more Indian nationals having been abducted in Libya.In August, four Indian nationals – all teachers working at a university – were taken hostage in the Islamic State-controlled Libyan city of Sirte. Two of them – Lakshmikanth from Raichur in Karnataka and Bengaluru resident Vijay Kumar – were released after two days in captivity. The others, Hyderabad’s Tiruveedula Gopikrishna and Balaram, continue to be in captivity.
“It has been learnt by our Mission in Tripoli that two Indian nationals -Pravash Ranjan Samal, hailing from Odisha, and Ramamurthy Kosanam, resident of Andhra Pradesh, have apparently been taken from Ibn-e-Sina in Sirte where they had been working, and detained…,” Vikas Swarup, the spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry said.
Vikas Swarup said all efforts were being made to “ensure the well- being and secure early release of our nationals”.
He also said that the Indian mission in Tripoli was making further inquiries for confirmation of the incident and is in touch with the local people, who can help in securing release of the two Indian nationals.
The latest incident comes even as two Indians, who were working in a university in Sirte, remain in the captivity after being abducted by Islamic militants in July.
The unrest in Libya began in February 2011 with the spillover of pro-democracy protests from Tunisia and Egypt that resulted in the overthrow of long ruling regimes in the two countries.
Sirte is under the control of the Islamic State terror group, which is steadily expanding its influence in central Libya.
