An armed Libyan militia group seized Tunisian consulate in Tripoli and has held 10 employees of diplomatic mission hostage, the Tunisian foreign ministry said on Friday.
The Tunisian Foreign Ministry, in a statement, condemned the attack saying it was "a vile aggression" against Tunisian sovereignty.
"The incident is a cowardly violation of Tunisian sovereignty, international conventions, and diplomatic traditions which guarantee the security of diplomats and consulate employees," a statement from ministry said, according to Xinhua.
The Tunisian foreign ministry, however, said they did not know whether the gunmen were holding the hostages at the consulate or had taken them elsewhere, according to Al Jazeera. The identities of abducted consulate staff as well as the armed group have not been revealed.
The statement further said Tunisia's government was monitoring the situation and would do whatever needs to be done to secure the release of its consulate staff, according to the BBC.
"All government services are following developments with interest in coordination with Libyan, regional and international parties, to liberate without delay the Tunisian mission team and guarantee its safety," it said, according to Al Jazeera.
Khalifa Ghwell, prime minister of Tripoli based Islamist government, declined to comment circumstances of attack, adding that they are working to secure their release. "Everything will be fine, God willing," he commented, according to the Associated Press.
A group of Libyan militias and Islamists - Fajr Libya (Libya Dawn) - controlled Tripoli and run an international unrecognized government. Libya Dawn drove out the Libya's international recognized government, which is based in eastern city of Tobruk.
Tunisia is one of only a few countries which still has a diplomatic mission in neighboring Libya, reported Reuters. The attack is the sixth this year on diplomatic missions in Tripoli
The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibilities for attacks on Iranian and Spanish embassies in recent months, reported Middle East Eye. The South Korean, Moroccan and Algerian diplomatic missions were also attacked in this year.
