An employee of Britain’s embassy in Lebanon was found murdered Sunday.

The body of Rebecca Dykes was reportedly found on the side of the road. Police sources told the British media that Dykes appeared to have been raped before she was killed but that the crime did not appear to be politically motivated.

A statement from Dykes’ family said they were “devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca.”

“We are doing all we can to understand what happened. We request that the media respect our privacy as we come together as a family at this very difficult time,” the family said.

Dykes had been working in Beirut for nearly a year as the program and policy manager for the Department for International Development, according to the BBC.

Local police say that an investigation, including a second post-mortem, is being carried out. British authorities said they were in contact with local police.

 
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