Libya’s central bank governor, other bankers flee to avoid militias, says FT By Reuters

(Reuters) – Libya’s central bank governor Sadiq al-Kabir said he and other bank employees were forced to leave the country to “protect lives” from potential attacks by armed militia, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

“The militias threaten and terrorize the bank staff and sometimes kidnap their children and relatives to force them to go to work,” Kabir told the newspaper by phone.

He also said interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah’s attempts to replace him were illegal and violated UN-negotiated agreements on central bank control.

The crisis over control of Libya’s Central Bank is creating yet another level of instability in the country, a major oil producer that is divided between eastern and western factions that have received support from Turkey and Russia.

The UN Support Mission in Libya earlier this week called for the suspension of unilateral decisions, the lifting of force majeure on oil fields, a halt to escalations and the use of force and the protection of central bank employees.