Mayor of Libya's municipality assassinated

TRIPOLI, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- The mayor of the Libyan city of Misurata, some 150 km east of the capital Tripoli, was assassinated late Sunday by an unknown armed group, a military source said Monday.

"Unknown armed group kidnapped the municipality of Misurara Mohamed Eshtewi, as he left the airport late on Sunday evening, " the military source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"Eshtewi's brother was hit before he managed to escape, while the mayor was found dead later," the source added.

The body of Eshtewi was taken to the city's hospital, while security agencies are investigating the case, the source said.

Eshtewi had just returned from Turkey on an official trip before he was kidnapped and killed.

Ghassan Salame, UN envoy to Libya, condemned the killing of Eshtewi.

"UN Special Representative expresses deep sadness and clear condemnation for the assassination of the mayor of Misurata municipality Mohamed Eshtewi," a UN statement said.

Libya has been suffering escalating violence and insecurity following the uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime. Enditem