Two Serb hostages in Libya alive, talks under way — Serbian PM

BELGRADE — Two Serbian Embassy staff members abducted in Libya last week are alive and the government is negotiating for their release, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday.

The two, identified as Sladjana Stankovic, a communications officer, and Jovica Stepic, a driver, were snatched on Sunday after their diplomatic convoy, including the ambassador, came under fire near the coastal city of Sabratha.

A Libyan driver was injured in the incident, while Ambassador Oliver Potezica was unharmed.

Much of Libya is in the grip of lawless armed factions four years after an uprising toppled dictator Muammar Qadhafi.

Vucic said the government in Belgrade had a team of security, intelligence experts and diplomats to Libya to secure the release of the two hostages.

"With a great degree of certainty I can say that these people are alive and talks with various players are ongoing," Vucic told a news conference in Belgrade without elaborating.

Sabratha, just west of Tripoli, is along a coast road where several armed groups operate, mostly allied with their local towns or regions.

Earlier this week, Potezica told the Belgrade-based Vecernje Novosti daily he was "almost certain criminal elements were behind the kidnapping".

Libya is split between two rival governments and the armed factions who back them. Much of the North African state is under the sway of militants, criminal gangs and tribal fighters.

Diplomats and foreign nationals have been targeted in the past for kidnapping, mostly for ransom or to demand the release of Libyan fighters being held by overseas governments. Islamist militants have also targeted foreigners.

Serbia maintains relations with the internationally recogised Libyan government based in the eastern town of Tobruk, and maintains communication with the self-declared authorities in the capital Tripoli.