CM Kajawl :Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain on Wednesday said the government would shift the Bangladeshi expatriates to the neighbouring countries from Libya if the situation deteriorates further in the North African country. “We are closely monitoring the situation in Libya. If the situation deteriorates further, we’ll shift our people to other countries,” he told the journalists at Probashi Kalyan Bhaban in the city. “Libya is going through a political turmoil as different groups are fighting each other there. So, we are keeping our eyes on the overall situation. If needed, we will relocate our people to the other countries like Tunisia,” the minister said.As a precautionary measure, he advised the Bangladeshi expatriates to avoid conflict-hit zones of Libya and to remain mentally prepared to leave the country in case of any emergency. “I would like to request our people to stay away from the trouble-hit areas and remain prepared to leave the country at any time,” he said. The minister also said the Bangladeshi workers should not get panicked as the government is very much concerned about their safety. “Bangladesh mission in Libya is closely working with the Libyan authorities for the rescue of the two Bangladeshi workers,” he added. “The government has been keeping contact with international organizations like Red Cross, IOM and ILO. If the situation requires, our people will be immediately taken out from Libya,” he noted. Regarding the fate of the two abducted Bangladeshis, Mosharraf said the government is yet to know their whereabouts. However, he hoped that the two Bangladeshi would get release soon as they were not the target of any armed group. Presently, about 50,000 Bangladeshis are living in Libya, he said. A group of unidentified gunmen abducted nine foreigners including two Bangladeshi expatriates from the Al-Ghani Oil Field of Libya on March 6. According to the information, the abducted persons are: Helal Uddin from Jamalpur and Mohammad Anwar Hossain Mia from Goyeshpur, Begumganj, Noakhali. Though no group has yet claimed the responsibility of kidnapping the nine people, it is strongly believed that the Islamist militant group IS abducted them. The radical jihadist group drew worldwide attention when it announced a ‘Caliphate’ after seizing vast swathes of Iraq and Syria last year. It is believed to have killed several thousand people since its emergence in April, 2013.But this is the first known instance of a Bangladeshi being abducted by the militant group.
