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Serbian embassy staff kidnapped in Libya

November 8, 2015

A communications officer and a driver for the Serbian embassy were abducted after a shootout in Libya, Serbian officials say. Diplomats said they were doing "everything possible" to ensure their return.

https://p.dw.com/p/1H1zd
Libyen Miliz
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M.Brabu

Sladjana Stankovic, an embassy official in charge of communication, and the embassy's driver Jovica Stepic were seized in the Libyan coastal city of Sabratha on Sunday.

"The motorcade, which also included our ambassador, was cut off while driving to Tunisia," Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said.

"The driver and the communications officer were in the other car. Shots were fired, and one Libyan national was hit in the leg, according to the initial reports," he added.

Dacic said that there was still no information about the group responsible for the attack, and that no demands have been made.

The government has formed an emergency committee in response to the incident, and Dacic spoke to his Libyan counterpart, Mohamed Imhamid Abdulaziz.

"The ministry is doing everything possible to get more information and secure the safe return of our citizens, in a difficult situation on the ground," the Foreign Ministry said in a Sunday statement.

Serbia has diplomatic relations with the internationally recognized government of Libya, which is locked in a power struggle with the rebel regime in Tripoli.

dj/rc (Beta, Reuters, AFP, AP)