Four Italians were kidnapped
in Libya Sunday, the foreign ministry said Monday.
The four were kidnapped near an Eni oil and gas company
complex in the city of Mellitah in western Libya, the ministry
said in a statement.
It added that the four were workers for the Bonatti
construction company that specializes in oilfield work.
Libyan sources said the four were kidnapped as they
returned Sunday from Tunisia.
The sources said that local security officials had not yet
identified the kidnappers.
The Greenstream underwater pipeline project begins near
Mellitah and runs underwater to the Sicilian city of Gela.
Greenstream is said to be the largest pipeline running
under the Mediterranean, stretching some 520 kilometres at a
depth of more than 1,100 meters.
Italy closed its embassy in Libya on February 15, and urged
Italians to leave the North African country because of risks to
foreigners there, the ministry statement said.
Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said the crisis unit of
his department was working urgently on the case but it was
difficult to speculate on who was behind the kidnappings.
Gentiloni, who will meet with UN special envoy on Libya
Bernardino Leon at the foreign ministry in Rome Tuesday, said he
did not think the abductions were a reprisal for Italy's support
for the new government being formed in Libya.
Gentiloni said the EU is considering individual sanctions
against "hardliners" in Libya who oppose the signing of a
UN-sponsored power-sharing agreement reached in Morocco.
Gentiloni said the "hypothesis" of sanctions against "three
to four" individuals who oppose the peace process could go into
effect if there aren't changes among certain factions in
Tripoli, despite the fact that there was support for the process
from "most" members from Libya.
"Eleven of the 13 mayors and many militias are in favor of
the peace process," Gentiloni said.
"Still, there has been a strong and threatening pressure
from some hardliners against the possibility that there could be
positive discussion in Tripoli," he said, referring to those
individuals against whom sanctions might be imposed if they
continued their opposition.
Four years after a revolution in Libya ousted dictator
Muammar Gaddafi, two opposing governments are fighting for
control of the oil-rich country where ISIS is gaining a
foothold.
The conflict is pushing many Libyans to flee to European
shores, causing an immigration crisis, especially for countries
in close proximity such as Italy.
The internationally recognised government in Tobruk said it
would open a probe into the abductions, saying "the situation in
the country has deteriorated and there is now daily
instability".
Condemning the kidnappings, it said they were "against the
ethics of all Libyans".
Tobruk also called for the lifting of an arms embargo so
its forces could more effectively fight terrorists.
Meanwhile Rome's prosecutors and investigators from the
Carabinieri anti-terrorism ROS unit said they were investigating
the kidnappings as being carried out for the purpose of
terrorism.
Italian intelligence services were said to be "examining
all possible leads".
Built by Italian oil groups Eni and Agip in partnership
with Libya's state oil company NOC, Greenstream carries some 10
billion cubic meters of gas a year from Mellitah to Gela and
then on into southern Europe.
Mouths were zipped at the Bonatti HQ in Parma, given the
foreign ministry's orders to protect the anonymity of the four.
But a poster at its Wafa field in Libya said:
"Freedom for Gino, Salvo, Filippo and Fausto".
Founded in 1946, the international company employs 46,000
people worldwide.
The Community of the Arab World in Italy (Co-mai) called
for the release of the four Italians.
"Our sympathy is with the families of those kidnapped, who
are spending these hours torn by fear and desperation. Our
support is also with the Italian government, Foreign Minister
Paolo Gentiloni, and Premier Matteo Renzi, who are working for
the safety of these citizens and for peace in the Middle East,"
the group said in a statement.
The abductions brought to five the number of Italians in
captivity around the world.
Father Paolo Dall'Oglio, a Jesuit missionary, has been
missing in Syria since July 2013.
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