Libya’s deputy foreign minister has announced that five Egyptian diplomats who were kidnapped in Tripoli on Friday and Saturday have now been freed.

Gunmen had snatched the individuals in retaliation for Egypt’s arrest of a Libyan militia commander while he was visiting Cairo for medical treatment.

It has been reported that the commander has also been released by the Egyptian authorities.

The abduction of diplomats in the Libyan capital illustrates the fragility of government control over militia’s who helped topple Muammar Gaddafi but now refuse to disarm.