The Libyan National Army successfully rescued a Chinese national as part of their operation aimed at securing the country’s southern border.
According to military sources on Thursday, the operation has accomplished 95% of its tasks, particularly in pursuing criminal and rebel gangs operating between Libya and Chad.
The rescue operation began when Brigade 128 received a tip about the kidnapping of a foreign individual by a criminal gang.
Upon investigation, it was found that the captive was a Chinese national who had been kidnapped inside Chadian territory over a month ago before being transferred to Libya.
Immediately after receiving the tip, the brigade’s command dispatched a unit to raid the gang’s hideout in Ubari, southwest Libya, where the captive was being held.
The rescued individual, named Du Shoujiang, is a 57-year-old native of Hainan Province in southern China. He arrived in Chad in 2020 to work on the “Great Green Wall” project, aimed at planting millions of trees in several sub-Saharan countries, ranging from Eritrea in the east to Senegal in the west.
Criminals kidnapped him from his workplace in Chad and moved him to Libya, specifically Sabha in the south, and then to another small town before finally settling in Ubari, where the Libyan Army successfully intervened to rescue him.
Inquiries are still being made into the kidnapping circumstances, the gang’s method of moving hundreds of kilometers across borders, and the nature of its members who managed to escape before the raid.
Cross-border gangs are active in Sahel and Central African countries, kidnapping foreign workers for ransom, threatening and blackmailing operating companies, or sabotaging their projects to benefit other parties.
The Libyan Army operation to secure the southern border and expel criminal gangs and Chadian rebel movements began last Friday.
According to Colonel Mohamed Bounawara, one of the officers of Brigade 128, the army and other military formations involved in the operation have successfully controlled these points and accomplished approximately 95% of their assigned tasks for border control.
The military operation comes amid escalating tensions on the border between Libya and Chad, the renewal of battles between terrorist and rebel groups in southern Libya and the Chadian army, ongoing battles in Sudan, and the potential for regional military intervention in Niger.
The successful rescue operation signifies a major step forward in Libya’s struggle to secure its southern border and could serve as a deterrent against the cross-border criminal activities plaguing the region.
