Jordanian Ambassador Abducted By Gunmen On Tuesday

Masked gunmen abducted the Jordanian ambassador in the Libyan capital early Tuesday, officials said, the latest in a wave of abductions in the North African nation still plagued by lawlessness more than two years after the ouster of dictator Moammar Gadhafi, according to CNN.

Assailants in two cars opened fire on Ambassador Fawaz al-Etan's vehicle in central Tripoli near the Jordanian Embassy, wounding his driver before forcing the diplomat out at gunpoint, said Libyan Foreign Ministry spokesman Said al-Aswad, CNN reported.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it is closely following the case and will "exert all effort to ensure safety of the ambassador," according to CNN. It also called on the kidnappers to release him, and urged Libyans to "respect the diplomatic and foreign envoys in the country."

Following the kidnapping, Jordan's national carrier, Royal Jordanian, suspended its flight to Tripoli on Tuesday, airline spokesman Basil al-Kilani said but did not specify when flights would resume, CNN reported.

The motives behind the abduction were not clear, and there was no immediate word from the kidnappers, according to CNN. Abductions have been rife in Libya since the country's 8-month civil war ended with Gadhafi's killing in October 2011.

Diplomats and journalists have been among those targeted in the kidnappings, CNN reported. In January, gunmen briefly held six Egyptian diplomats and embassy employees following the arrest of a Libyan militia leader in Egypt and only released them after Egypt freed the detained militia commander.

Most of the abductions have targeted Libyan officials, including senior members of the government, and their families, according to CNN.

Libya's interim prime minister, Abdullah al-Thinni, who declined a parliamentary mandate to form a new government, said on Sunday he would step down after a new premier is named, CNN reported. Al-Thinni said his decision was prompted by a recent attack against him that, in his words, endangered the lives of residents of his neighborhood.

Last year, former Prime Minister Ali Zidan was briefly abducted from his five-star hotel in central Tripoli by an Islamic militia group before he was released by another rival armed group, CNN reported.

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