Tunisian consulate to close following diplomat abductions

TUNIS, Tunisia, June 19 (UPI) -- The Tunisian consulate in Tripoli will be closed indefinitely and staffers will be sent home following the kidnapping and release of 10 consular diplomats, Tunisian Foreign Minister Taieb Baccouche said.

In an announcement Friday, Baccouche said 23 consulate staff members in Libya's capital will be returned home. The announcement comes after 10 diplomats, who were kidnapped in June 12, were released. Baccouche denies trading the diplomats with the release of Walid Qulaib, who is being held in Tunisia on terrorism charges. Qulaib is a senior leader of the Lybian militia group Libya's Dawn.

"All the Tunisian staff at the consulate in Tripoli have been released," said Mokhtar al-Shawashi, a spokesman for the Tunisian Foreign Ministry.

Baccouche said he decided to close the consulate because of poor security and the abductions.

"We decided to close the consulate after this serious incident," Baccouche said. "We have found out that there is not enough protection for the mission."