A group of masked gunmen in Sirte, controlled by Khalifa Haftar's militias, have kidnapped the folk poet Tariq Diab Gaddafi, Libyan Crime Watch (LCW) announced on Wednesday.

In a Facebook post, the organization said the 36-year-old poet was kidnapped by a group of armed men wearing civilian clothes and riding a Toyota.

In his recent poems, the Sirte resident addressed the living conditions, including the curfew imposed by the pro-Haftar Tariq bin Ziyad militia on the region last September.

LCW urged the authorities to open an investigation into the incident and uncover the poet's fate.

It demanded his unconditional release and to hold those responsible for his kidnapping accountable, as it called for the respect of freedom of opinion and expression.