Libya confirms its communication with Chad to release the citizens detained since last week

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Government of National Unity in Libya issued instructions on Tuesday to communicate at the highest level with Chad, with an aim to release four Libyans detained by the Chadian authorities, whom Libya says have "lost their way in the desert."

The Libyan Foreign Ministry said in a statement today, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation announces that it followed up on the situation since the Chadian authorities detained the four Libyan youths who had lost their way in the desert and strayed into Chadian territory."

The ministry added that it "has formed a crisis cell that is working around the clock and communicating with all concerned parties to ensure the release of these young men and enable them to return home."

The Libyan Foreign Ministry confirmed that it "communicates with the Chadian side at the highest levels for the purpose of releasing the Libyan men," and that "the Embassy of the Republic of Chad accredited in Tripoli confirmed their imminent release."

Chad arrests two Libyans in response to the arrests of Chadians in Libya

The Chadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Monday that it "arrested four Libyan citizens in the Mardi Governorate in the East Ennedi region last week," adding that they "were carrying several firearms, and they crossed the border illegally."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Integration and Chadians Abroad of the Republic of Chad indicated that it was "informing national and international public opinion of the arrest of four Libyan citizens in Mardi Governorate, East Ennedi region, last week, for carrying several firearms and crossing the border illegally," adding that "they were arrested committing illegal hunting, and the case has been referred to justice."

The four Libyans were arrested by the Chadian authorities through “the 116th Libyan Brigade, which has been carrying out mass arrests for more than a week of innocent Chadians living in Libya, especially in the city of Ajdabiya, with vengeful motives,” according to the statement.

On Monday, the Chadian Foreign Ministry condemned "these illegal and arbitrary arrests," calling on "the competent Libyan authorities to preserve the physical integrity of the detained Chadians and protect them from any inhuman and degrading treatment."

The Chadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its "readiness to discuss with the relevant Libyan authorities ways and means to assist in an appropriate and urgent response to this situation of grave concern," stressing its "commitment to the historical bonds of brotherhood, friendship, cooperation and good neighborliness between Chad and Libya, as well as between the two brotherly Chadian and Libyan peoples."

In a related context, Libyan media announced that "crime-fighting elements in the Libyan city of Ajdabiya arrested two Chadians, one drunk, and the other found in possession of a forged Libyan driver's license, by the office's security patrols."

The border area between the two countries has been witnessing great tension for years, and the Chadian President was killed last year by rebels stationed on the border with Libya, after their incursion into the country, a day after announcing his victory for a sixth term.

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