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Senior official with Libya's Tripoli-based gov't freed

Xinhua, March 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

A senior official with Libya's self-proclaimed government in Tripoli was released on Monday, according to a government source.

Ali Al-Huni, minister of information of the Tripoli government, was freed five days after he was kidnapped by gunmen in the capital.

"Al-Huni was released a few hours ago, five days after an armed group kidnapped him from his home to an unknown destination," a source with the ministry of information told Xinhua.

The source did not provide more details about armed kidnappers or the conditions under which the minister was released.

The North African country has been plagued by kidnappings and assassinations since the downfall of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The recent fightings between Islamist groups and pro-secular militias have severely aggravated the security situation in the country.

Libya is now juggling two rival governments, the internationally recognized Libyan interim government based in eastern Libya and the Islamist-backed government of Al-Hassi based in Tripoli.

Libya's former Prime Minister Ali Zeidan and a former deputy Prime Minister, Abu Shagor, were both been abducted by gunmen, one in 2013, and the other in 2014. They were subsequently released. Endit