Libya central bank suspends operations after kidnapping of director

The Libyan Central Bank has announced the suspension of all its operations after the kidnapping of one of its executives in the capital Tripoli.

The bank denounced in a statement on Sunday the kidnapping of its IT director Musab Msallem.

She said Mr Msallem was abducted from his home by an "unidentified person" on Sunday morning and that other employees had been threatened with kidnapping.

The central bank said its operations would not resume until Mr Msallem was released.

The central bank, which is independent but owned by the Libyan state, is the sole internationally recognized repository of Libya's oil revenues, a vital economic source of income for a country torn for years between rival governments in Tripoli and Benghazi.

It comes a week after the central bank was besieged by gunmen, according to the AFP news agency.

According to local media, cited by AFP, the gunmen did this to force the resignation of the bank's governor, Seddik al-Kabir.

In office since 2012, Mr Kabir has been criticised for his management of oil resources and the state budget.

Since the ouster and assassination of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country has suffered from chronic insecurity.

The country is divided by power struggles and currently has two governments: one recognized by the UN and based in Tripoli, the other in the east of the country, backed by warlord General Khalifa Haftar.