Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/453115
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 28 JANUARY 2015 2 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Foreign Policy correspondent and analyst Mohamed Eljarh tweeted early on that Tripoli's Islamic State had an- nounced that the attack on the Cor- inthia was "in revenge for the death of Abu Anas al-Libi, an alleged al Qaeda operative accused of involve- ment in the bombings of United States embassies in Africa who was captured by US special forces in Libya, and died this month in a US hospital. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat will address the House of Representa- tives tonight in a statement on the attack on the Tripoli hotel. Yesterday he said that Malta's Se- curity Service was monitoring the situation to see whether the at- tacks had any connection to the Maltese ownership of the hotel. In Brussels yesterday afternoon, Muscat reiterated that the Maltese employees still working in Tripoli were there against the advice of the government. The hotel, one of Libya's fore- most tourism properties, houses diplomatic staff as well as political leaders: Omar al-Hasi, the prime minister leading the Tripoli gov- ernment that is not recognised by the international community, was said to be residing at the hotel. It was unclear whether the ter- rorists' attack was linked to Hasi's sojourn. Hasi leads the Libya Dawn (Fajr Libya) government, which ousted Abdullah Al-Thinni's internation- ally recognised government, now in exile in the city of Tobruk. Libya Dawn yesterday suggested that the attacks were manoeuvered by supporters of the renegade general Khalif Hiftar's Operation Dignity, which is fighting Misrata- backed Islamist forces. A spokesperson for Corinthia yesterday reassured MaltaToday as early as 9:45am that all staff and guests had been evacuated. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat tweeted that the Maltese government was working closely with the Corinthia Group following the bomb explo- sion. Opposition leader Simon Bu- suttil said his thoughts and prayers were with Corinthia staff. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs yesterday also said it was closely monitoring the ongoing situation at the Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli. "All Maltese employees are safe and out of harm's way. The govern- ment again reiterates its travel ad- vice issued in August 2014, against all forms of travel to Libya due to the prevailing situation." The EU's High Representative, Federica Mogherini, said the attack at the Corinthia Hotel was "another reprehensible act of terrorism which deals a blow to efforts to bring peace and stability to Libya." The EU expressed solidarity with the victims and their families. "The EU strongly supports the efforts of the ongoing UN led talks to bring a political solution based on respect and dialogue. Such attacks should not be allowed to undermine the po- litical process." Evacuations at Burj Tripoli and Dat el Emad complexes also took place following the bombing. The attack comes as the United Nations holds talks in Geneva aimed at ending violence between support- ers of al-Hassi and the rival, inter- nationally recognized government of Abdullah al-Thinni. Turmoil has deepened in the North African en- ergy producer since the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, with competing militias and tribes vy- ing for influence and control of oil revenues. Zeidan kidnapping The Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli had been the home of former Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan when he was kidnapped there by armed mi- litiamen. Home to diplomats after the 2011 war, former Prime Minister Ali Zei- dan was kidnapped from his room in October 2013 and released hours later. Libya's oil output dropped to be- tween 200,000 and 300,000 bar- rels a day as insecurity spread, Ali Tarhouni, a former oil minister, said last week. That makes Libya, which holds Africa's largest oil reserves, the smallest producer of the 12-member Organization of Petroleum Export- ing Countries. The country was producing about 1.6 million barrels a day before the 2011 rebellion. mvella@mediatdoay.com.mt News HEAD (OPERATIONAL PROGRAMME) Applications are invited for the positions of Head (Operational Programme) in the Ministry for European Affairs and Implementation of the Electoral Manifesto. Applications together with a detailed CV will be received at the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry for European Affairs and Implementation of the Electoral Manifesto, Tal-Pilar, 31B, Triq Marsamxett, Valletta, VLT 1850 or submitted through the Online Government Recruitment Portal on http://recruitment.gov.mt by not later than noon of Friday 13 February 2015. Further details may be obtained from the Government Gazette of 23 January 2015. Application forms may be downloaded from: https://opm.gov.mt/en/PAHRO/RESOURCING/Documents/Forms%20and%20Templates/recruitenglish.pdf Some of the positions being advertised through this call for applications are co-financed by the European Union ISIS affiliates claim revenge over suspect captured by United States