Two Serbia embassy employees abducted in Libya — government

BELGRADE — Two Serbian embassy employees, a man and a woman, were abducted in Libya's northwestern coastal city of Sabratha on Sunday morning while they were travelling in convoy to Tunisia, the government in Belgrade said.

Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said that the convoy was carrying Serbia's ambassador to Libya in a separate car when the incident happened in the city about 100 kilometres from the main border crossing between Libya and Tunisia.

"Some shots were fired, one Libyan citizen was wounded in a leg, according to first reports," Dacic told the national RTS broadcaster.

"We have no information about who the kidnappers are. Nobody has contacted us to demand anything. We are following the situation," he said, adding that a crisis committee had been set up.

Dacic said he had alerted the Serbian prime minister of the missing employees.

A ministry statement identified the abducted pair as Sladjana Stankovic, in charge of communications, and Jovica Stepic, a driver.

Sabratha is considered a bastion for extremists in lawless Libya, which has become a magnet for radical militants who receive weapons training in jihadist camps before launching deadly attacks in other countries.

Libya descended into chaos after the October 2011 ouster and killing of longtime dictator Muammar Qadhafi, with two governments vying for power and armed groups battling to control its vast energy resources.

A militia alliance including Islamists overran Tripoli in August 2014, establishing a rival government and parliament that forced the internationally-recognised administration to flee to the country's remote east.

Belgrade maintains an embassy in Tripoli and Serbian citizens, mostly doctors and other medical staff as well as construction workers, have been working in Libya for decades due to close bilateral relations during Qadhafi's regime. 

Many of them, particularly those working in hospitals, have stayed despite the unrest since 2011.

The Serbian foreign ministry statement said it was doing "everything possible, in a difficult situation on the ground, to get more information and ensure the return of our citizens".

It added that Dacic had spoken with his Libyan counterpart about the abductions.

Sabratha falls under the jurisdiction of the powerful Fajr Libya militia alliance that seized Tripoli. It is on the edge of a region known as "Jefara", which analysts say is home to formerly nomadic tribes that make a living from smuggling and trafficking.

In June, after a Tunisian student armed with an assault rifle mowed down 38 tourists at a beach resort in his country, Tunisia's secretary of state for security said the shooter had been trained in Sabratha.