Four Egyptian embassy staff were kidnapped in Tripoli on Saturday, a day after the abduction of another Egyptian diplomat, in what Libya's government called a reaction to Egypt's arrest of a Libyan militia commander.
No group claimed responsibility for any of the abductions, but they came soon after a powerful Islamist-leaning militia group reported its commander had been arrested in Egypt and warned of a response unless he was freed.
Two years after Muammar Gaddafi's overthrow, Libya remains in flux, with the government struggling to rein in heavily-armed former rebels, militias and Islamist militants who fought in the uprising but often challenge central authority.
Libya's Justice Minister Salah al-Marghani said the government had made contacts to free the diplomats, who he said had been taken in reaction to Cairo's arrest of militia commander Shaban Hadia.