Gunmen seize truck carrying over $50m in cash in Libya

Security forces in Libya are searching for heavily armed men who seized a truck carrying more than $50 million in cash in the city of Sirte, the state news agency LANA reported Tuesday.

The group of 10 men intercepted the truck, which was carrying 53 million Libyan dinars (about $43 million) and another 12 million dinars (around $10 million) in euros and U.S. dollars Monday evening.

The money shipment from the Central Bank of Libya was flown in from Tripoli and was on its way to the bank's Sirte branch when the truck was intercepted at an intersection near the airport by the group, which carried small and medium-size weapons.

Bank officials told LANA the truck was escorted by only one security vehicle and the guards were not able to defend against the robbery. All commercial banks in the city were closed Tuesday in protest, LANA said.

In July, masked gunmen made off with more than $400,000 from at least two banks in Sirte.

The Libyan economy is primarily cash-only, and there has been concern about the rise in criminal activity across the country over the past year.

In a statement Tuesday, the Sirte Local Council condemned the incident and called on residents to cooperate with security forces and provide any information they have that could help bring the perpetrators to justice.

Sirte, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) southeast of Tripoli, is the birthplace of former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi and was his hiding place before his capture and killing in 2011. It was heavily damaged in the fighting in that year's civil war. Many residents complain about a lack of jobs, say they are neglected by the central government in Tripoli and are still demanding compensation for their damaged homes and losses from the revolution.

The country's weak central government has been struggling to exert its authority over the hundreds of militias that operate freely two years after the fall of the Gadhafi regime.

The deteriorating security situation and the growing power of militias were highlighted this month with Prime Minister Ali Zeidan's brief kidnapping by a militia in the capital. Another militia released Zeidan a few hours later.