The United Arab Emirates yesterday announced the release of three Filipinos and a South Korean abducted by armed groups in a water project site in western Libya more than 10 months ago.
In a statement posted on its official website, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said the “intensive efforts” that led to the release of the civilian captives were made “in coordination and cooperation between UAE and the Libyan National Army.”
The UAE government said the three Filipinos and Korean have been airlifted to Abu Dhabi in the UAE prior to their repatriation to their home countries.
However, the UAE did not mention the names of the freed civilians and the date of their actual release.
The UAE foreign ministry said they communicated with the LNA for the release of the civilians “upon receiving requests from the Philippines and South Korea.”
“As a result of a solid cooperation and coordination between the UAE and the Libyan National Army, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, search efforts had continued and resulted in finding them safely.”
The UAE government stated that they are now working on sending back the freed civilians to their home countries.
“The release of these innocent civilians has been made after intensive efforts to convey a message about the significance and importance of strengthening security and peace in Libya, and to contain criminal practices by armed groups who hold civilians captive without any consideration to international charters and norms,” the UAE said.
“In this case, they did not consider that these civilians work for companies that are serving national interests of Libya and its people,” it added.
Furthermore, it said the release of the four individuals means reuniting them with their families and getting them back home “after a long period of suffering.”
An unidentified armed group abducted the three Filipinos and their Korean co-worker at The Great Man-made River Project in western Libya in July last year. (Roy Mabasa)
