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By Al Russell.
Tripoli, 20 August:
Two men were abducted in Bani Walid on Saturday night, while a journalist, two members of the . . .[restrict]Libya Shield brigade and one other man remain hostages in the city, almost a month after being seized.
The two, one of whom has been named locally as Mohamed Noureddien Shunnat, set out to visit a relative when their vehicle was stopped in the city. It is understood that they were found in possession of a 9mm pistol and a 9mm carbine.
It is as yet unclear whether they are being held by the same group that still holds the men captured last month, or what the motivation for the kidnapping was.
The journalist still being held hostage is Abdulaziz Alharouss, alongside his friend Mohamed Ehssaiera and two Libya Shield soldiers, Mohamed Alawayieb and Omran Shaaban.
“The two are in custody in an unknown location in Bani Walid; there has been no contact, no news, nothing since Saturday night” Taher Zaroog, a local journalist, told the Libya Herald.
Bani Walid remains a centre of pro-Qaddafi sentiment; two kidnapped journalists were freed last month, reportedly in exchange for a number of suspected Qaddafi loyalists who were imprisoned in Misrata.
Recently, however, local sources have said that the Qaddafi men were due to be released anyway, independently of subsequent events.
When the journalists, Yusuf Baadi and Abdul Qader Fusuq, were released last month, Misrata local council released a statement calling for the release of the other hostages.
“We are very glad the two journalists have been released, and we appreciate the work of the wise men from the Nafusa Mountains”, the statement said.
“We thank them for their efforts and we asking them to complete their work to release the others”. [/restrict]
