4 Indian teachers abducted in Libya: No word from any group as yet

New Delhi, July 31: The four Indian teachers who were abducted at Libya on Friday were teaching at a university for the past one year. The Indian government is trying to establish contact to secure the release of the teachers

No contact has been established as yet and there has been no ransom demand either a senior official in the foreign office informed. The abduction in the wake of reports of an Indian family being abducted at Tripoli only last week.

Advisory not followed:

The Indian government had issued an advisory to all Indians living in Libya last year. The advisory stated that in the wake of escalating violence by the ISIS, the Indians were advised to return. While many returned to India some stayed on due to financial constraints.

The abductions by the ISIS has not been specific to any one nationality. They abduct people irrespective of nationality. In some cases they have demanded ransom while in others they have negotiated and let the people go. The Indian government does not believe that the ISIS is abducting its nationals selectively. They carry out abductions most of the time only to demand ransom, the officials state.

India has evacuated 17,000 people from Libya:

The tension in Libya has been escalating over the past few months. The June 25 Presidential elections in fact worsened the situation in Libya with various groups fighting with each others to stake a claim to power.

The United Nations had issued a statement last month calling on all warring factions to strike a truce and also engage in meaningful political dialogue. The continued fighting had made operations for any country difficult. India has so far managed to evacuate at least 17,000 of its national from Libya since the fighting began.

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