British embassy worker found murdered in Lebanon

Rebecca Dykes had been working for the Department of International Development, her body was found by Lebanese police.

By SETH J. FRANTZMAN
Updated: DECEMBER 18, 2017 01:46
Crime scene [illustrative] (photo credit: INGIMAGE)
Crime scene [illustrative]
(photo credit: INGIMAGE)
The body of a British diplomat who worked at the UK Embassy in Beirut has been found by Lebanese police. The BBC reported that there is suspicion she was murdered.
Rebecca Dykes’s body was found on Saturday next to the Metn expressway.
The expressway is a mountain road that links the coastal area of Metn north and east of Beirut with the town of Baabdat in the hills of Mount Lebanon. According to local media, her death is being treated as a murder and her body was transported to Daher el-Bachek Government Hospital for a post-mortem.
According to SkyNews, the Department of International Development has said there is a police investigation underway and the Foreign Office (FCO) is providing consular support.
“Our thoughts are with Becky’s family and friends at this upsetting time,” the statement said.
The FCO also said it was providing support to the family of the victim.
A Twitter account for Rebecca Dykes (@beckydykes) has only two tweets in which she re-tweeted UK ambassador to Lebanon Hugo Shorter.
The tweets show a bilateral meeting with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri in April.
A LinkedIn account in her name said she worked for the Department of International Development (DFID) and previously was with the Foreign Commonwealth Office.
It gave her position as a Program and Policy Manager in DFID in Lebanon since January 2017. It also said she graduated from Birkbeck, University of London, in International Security and Global Governance. Previously she was a policy manager on Libya and an Iraq Research Analyst for the FCO. The DFID leads the UK’s development work around the world.