Italy confirms three hostages freed from Libya
2016-11-05 20:15
ROME, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Two Italian nationals kidnapped in Libya were freed, and made a safe return to Italy early on Saturday, the Italian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Danilo Calonego, 66, and Bruno Cacace, 56, had been taken hostage near the southwest town of Ghat, at the border with Algeria, on Sept. 19, together with Canadian colleague Frank Poccia.
All three of them were freed in southern Libya during the night, and the two Italians were flown with an institutional flight to Rome in the early hours of Saturday, the ministry said.
The three men worked as technicians with Italian Con.I.Cos construction company, which is currently carrying out a maintenance project at Ghat airport.
They had been kidnapped near the company's compound by an armed group, which had blocked the road on which they were travelling, according to the ministry.
Their liberation was made possible "thanks to the effective cooperation with Libyan local authorities," the statement added.
No further details were provided about the circumstances of their release, or the identity of the kidnappers.
The two Italian nationals would be in good health conditions, and received no abuses during their captivity, ANSA news agency cited Foreign Affairs Ministry sources as reporting.
They would meet with Rome prosecutors investigating into their abduction on Saturday, ANSA reported.
Four other Italian technicians working with Bonatti construction company had been kidnapped in the western port of Mellitah, near the industrial complex owned by Italy's energy giant ENI, in July last year.
Two of them were allegedly killed in a shootout between the kidnappers and local Libyan militias, Italian media reported at the time citing security officials.
Their colleagues Gino Pollicardo, 55, and Filippo Calcagno, 65, were freed in a blitz, and safely returned to Italy, in March 2016.
Another Italian technician working in Libya, Marco Vallisa, was kidnapped in July 2014, and freed in November 2014.
Libya is Italy's former colony, and the presence of Italian companies is large, especially in energy and construction fields, despite its instability.
The north African country has long been engulfed in civil war after the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, and is now struggling to conclude a difficult political transition
Danilo Calonego, 66, and Bruno Cacace, 56, had been taken hostage near the southwest town of Ghat, at the border with Algeria, on Sept. 19, together with Canadian colleague Frank Poccia.
All three of them were freed in southern Libya during the night, and the two Italians were flown with an institutional flight to Rome in the early hours of Saturday, the ministry said.
The three men worked as technicians with Italian Con.I.Cos construction company, which is currently carrying out a maintenance project at Ghat airport.
They had been kidnapped near the company's compound by an armed group, which had blocked the road on which they were travelling, according to the ministry.
Their liberation was made possible "thanks to the effective cooperation with Libyan local authorities," the statement added.
No further details were provided about the circumstances of their release, or the identity of the kidnappers.
The two Italian nationals would be in good health conditions, and received no abuses during their captivity, ANSA news agency cited Foreign Affairs Ministry sources as reporting.
They would meet with Rome prosecutors investigating into their abduction on Saturday, ANSA reported.
Four other Italian technicians working with Bonatti construction company had been kidnapped in the western port of Mellitah, near the industrial complex owned by Italy's energy giant ENI, in July last year.
Two of them were allegedly killed in a shootout between the kidnappers and local Libyan militias, Italian media reported at the time citing security officials.
Their colleagues Gino Pollicardo, 55, and Filippo Calcagno, 65, were freed in a blitz, and safely returned to Italy, in March 2016.
Another Italian technician working in Libya, Marco Vallisa, was kidnapped in July 2014, and freed in November 2014.
Libya is Italy's former colony, and the presence of Italian companies is large, especially in energy and construction fields, despite its instability.
The north African country has long been engulfed in civil war after the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, and is now struggling to conclude a difficult political transition
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