Tripoli Municipality Council members announced their suspension of work within the council, starting on Thursday, in protest against the kidnapping of the mayor of the municipality, Abdul-Raof Bitlmal. In a statement early on Thursday, the Municipality condemned the incident, demanding that the Presidential Council and all officials take the necessary and immediate measures to secure his release. Sources claimed that Bitlmal was “arrested” by the Old City Police Office on grounds that he did not respond to their request to appear for an administrative investigation in a number of cases related to the Tripoli Municipality Council.

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The United States Africa Command (Africom) said in a news briefing on Wednesday that two senior Al-Qaeda leaders in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), including Musa Abu Dawud, were killed in an air strike on April 24 on a house in Ubari, southern Libya. Abu Dawud was described as Al-Qaeda trainer and recruiter in Libya for attacks in the region as well as being a person who provides logistical support, funding and weapons to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Africom also stated that the raid was conducted in coordination with the Presidential Council in Tripoli.

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South Korea will reopen its embassy in Tripoli very soon, the Asian country’s Chargé d'affaires announced Wednesday. This came during a meeting with the Chief of the General Directorate of Diplomatic Security, Colonel Wissam bin Jamea, according to the Information Office of the Ministry of Interior. South Korea submitted a proposal to hold protection and bodyguard training for the Diplomatic Police personnel in Seoul. The South Korean Chargé d'affaires thanked the General Directorate of Diplomatic Security for their efforts to protect the South Korean diplomatic mission over the past few years.

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A member of the Media Committee of Tawergha IDPs, Ahmed Shertil, has declared that a meeting between Tawergha and Misrata officials will be held in the coming days to discuss the latest developments regarding the return of the Tawerghan IDPs. Shertil revealed in a press statement that the work of the security plan to protect the Tawergha residents was initiated by the Central Region Commander. He said that a construction compnay had completed repair works on the Tawergha military barracks to become the headquarters of the security command in the future. Shertil added that the chairman of the Tawergha Local Council met with the International Development Association (IDA) to assess the situation of the internally displaced people in Harawa camp.

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The Minister of Finance, Osama Hammad, has called for reducing the duration of Libyan diplomats and officers abroad to no more than two years in office with no extension. This came in a letter sent by Hammad to the Chairman of the Presidential Council, Fayez Al-Sarraj, in which he demanded to reduce the number of jobs in Libyan diplomatic missions abroad. The minister clarified in his letter that the country is suffering from economic difficulties at the moment and the total that this large expenditure is costing from the salaries of these missions abroad is far too high. Hammad pledged that the Ministry of Finance is the first to adhere to these procedures as one of its tasks to develop urgent solutions to the financial crises.

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The Italian Interior Minister, Marco Minniti, stated on Wednesday that they had identified migrants with the right to international protection in Libya, in cooperation with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). In an interview with Italy's La Stampa newspaper, Minniti stated that those entitled to international protection should arrive in Europe through humanitarian corridors and not through the means of human traffickers. He also noted that the UNHCR repatriated more than 22,500 migrants from Libya under the voluntary repatriation program.

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