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Libya's OPEC representative released after two weeks as hostage

It remains unclear who kidnapped Samir Salem Kamal on Jan.15 in Tripoli, Libya.

By Fred Lambert

TRIPOLI, Libya, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- The Libyan representative to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Nations, known as OPEC, was released Sunday, two weeks after being taken hostage by unidentified kidnappers in western Libya.

Samir Salem Kamal was taken captive after leaving work in Tripoli on Jan. 15. His family said they had contacted multiple groups within Libya, but most denied any knowledge of his whereabouts until Sunday, when an anonymous caller told them he had been released on a roadway, the BBC reports.

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Kamal's family said he was "in good health, but a bit shaken up," and that due to his being blindfolded when taken, was unable to identify his kidnappers. The group's motives remain unknown.

Since 2011, when Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown, the country collapsed into further chaos as rebel militias turned on each another. One group set up an internationally-recognized government in Tobruk, to the east, and others formed the General National Congress in Tripoli, to the west.

Earlier this month the Tobruk government and the GNC agreed to a United Nations-backed ceasefire, though several other militant groups not aligned to either side -- including one declaring allegiance to the Islamic State -- have not agreed to the truce.

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Kamal has been Libya's OPEC representative for two years and was also a senior manager in the Ministry of Oil.

Libya's oil infrastructure has been a frequent target of militant attacks. As of late last year, the country lost $100 million in crude oil after fighters from a group calling itself Libya Dawn launched attacks on oil storage facilities at the port of Es Sider, killing at least 19 soldiers and leaving five of the site's 21 gas tanks in flames.

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