The fate of two Bangladeshi workers abducted in Libya is still unknown as there is no progress in the rescue operation there, foreign minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali said on Thursday.
‘There is no progress in rescuing two Bangladeshi workers in Libya. No group of the abductors so far claims it,’ he told reporters replying to a question at Probashi Kalyan Bhaban after a meeting.
The foreign minister, however, said Bangladesh ambassador in Tripoli took up the issue with Philippines and Austrian foreign ministries whose nationals were also abducted with Bangladeshis.
He said the sole Bangladesh mission has continued its working in Tripoli from where other foreign missions have already relocated to the Tunisian town of Djerba, close to the Libyan border.
Replying to another question, foreign minister said that there no ‘immediate possibility’ to relocate the Bangladesh mission from Tripoli.
The minister for expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment, Khandker Mosharaf Hossain who were present at the meeting said that the government was closely observing the situation in Libya and if necessary all the Bangladeshis would be repatriated from that country.
He advised Bangladeshis in Libya to move cautiously and not leave their workplaces unless it was absolutely essential.
Over 50,000 Bangladeshis are working in Libya, he said.
The two Bangladeshis are among nine expatriate workers abducted by unidentified gunmen from the Al-Ghani Oil Field in central Libya on March 6.
The abducted Bangladeshi oil field workers include Helal Uddin from Jamalpur and M Anwar Hossain Mia from Goyeshpur, Begumganj, Noakhali, said officials.
On March 2, Bangladesh embassy in Tripoli advised the Wage Earners’ Welfare Board to set aside money for the possible repatriation of Bangladeshi workers from Libya.
Source: New Age