15 Apr 2014

Ambassador to Libya kidnapped

9:11 pm on 15 April 2014

Jordan's ambassador to Libya has been kidnapped after masked gunmen attacked his car and shot his driver.

A Jordanian foreign ministry source said they believe the incident occurred as Fawaz al-Itan was leaving his house in Tripoli on Tuesday morning.

Libya's foreign ministry said the driver survived the attack and is in hospital, Reuters reports.

Since the start of this year, five Egyptian diplomats, a Tunisian official and a South Korean trade official have been abducted in Libya.

The weak government has been unable to disarm former rebels who fought against deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, and parliament has deep internal divisions.