Tunis: Dozens of Tunisians held in Libya by a militia forming part of an alliance ruling Tripoli have been freed, Tunisia`s foreign ministry announced Saturday.
"All the Tunisians being held in Libya have been freed. The final group was released today," the ministry said in a statement, without giving numbers.
Tunis announced earlier in May that 172 of its nationals were being held in western Libya by a militia belonging to the Libya Dawn alliance.
Mohamed Abdelsalam al-Kuwiri, who heads a unit in the Tripoli-based government that combats illegal migration, said last week that his officers had helped secure the release of 42 Tunisians.
According to Tunisia`s foreign ministry, its nationals were detained "to check their documents", although the Tunisian consul in Tripoli has said they were apparently taken as bargaining chips for a Libyan militia commander arrested in Tunis.
Libya has been wracked by conflict since the 2011 overthrow of veteran dictator Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising, with rival governments and powerful militias battling for power.