A 31-year-old man from Kappara, Matthew Dingli, is in critical condition after he was injured in an incident involving a firearm in Libya, the government said.

Sources told timesofmalta.com that no foul play is suspected and the injury may have been "accidental". The man was found in his apartment in Tripoli and there were no signs of altercation.

Mr Dingli was brought to Malta by air ambulance last night.

In a statement, the government said it had not yet been established how the incident happened and was still not in a position to independently verify the facts.

Mr Dingli had given Times of Malta an interview in 2011, having remained in Tripoli during the six month conflict.

He had been exuberant that the conflict was finally over saying: “It feels so good... even the fact that we can have this conversation. I was very scared before... people were being taken away (to prison) from everywhere. I was afraid to say certain things, even on e-mail.”

Mr Dingli, who partly owned a business in the city, had then said he planned to stay in Libya and hoped to see it turn into a thriving country.

The government said all the Libyan authorities cooperated fully for the victim to be evacuated.

The government reiterated its advice against all forms of travel to Libya.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the Maltese authorities were working independently to verify the dynamics of the case. Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said he was also closely following the case.