Turkey condemns assassination of local Libyan official

By Cansu Dikme

ANKARA

Turkey on Monday condemned the assassination of a local Libyan official in the country’s northwest.

“We have learned with deep sorrow that Mohammed Eshtawi, mayor of Misrata, Libya, was abducted and subsequently assassinated by several unidentified gunmen,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.

“We strongly condemn this heinous assassination targeting the stability of Misrata and of Libya,” it said. “We hope that the perpetrators will be apprehended as soon as possible and brought to justice.”

Mohammed Eshtawi, the chief of the Misurata Municipal Council, was shot dead in northwestern Libya on Monday, according to the official Libyan News Agency.

He was abducted by militants shortly after leaving the city’s airport and was later found dead, the agency said, citing a local source.