Jordan's kidnapped ambassador released in Libya

Jordan's ambassador abducted last month in Libya has been released by his captors and is on his way home, the kingdom's foreign minister said on Tuesday.

Ambassador Fawaz al-Etan was taken by gunmen from his vehicle in central Tripoli near the Jordanian Embassy on April 15. Assailants opened fire on his car, wounded his driver and then forced him out at gunpoint. The gunmen demanded fighter Mohamed Dersi be released from a Jordanian jail in exchange for the diplomat's freedom. The driver survived the attack.

Jordan's Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh gave no details in announcing the ambassador’s release. Officials said the diplomat was in good health and was returning home on a military plane.

A week after the ambassador's abduction, Jordan released the detainee and transferred him to Libya. Al-Darsi had been convicted in 2007 of trying to carry out a suicide bombing at Amman's Queen Alia International Airport, the main airport in Jordan.

At the time, Jordanian officials would not say whether the Libyan detainee's release was connected to the ambassador’s abduction.

This and other kidnappings in Libya reflect the weakness of the country's politicians and officials in the face of powerful militias that have become both the enforcers of the law and the source of lawlessness since the country's civil war ended with Moammar Gadhafi's killing in October 2011.

Diplomats and journalists have been among those targeted. In January, gunmen briefly held six Egyptian diplomats and embassy employees following the arrest of a Libyan militia leader in Egypt. The diplomats were released only after Egypt freed the detained militia commander.

Al Jazeera and wire services