ROME-  Four Italian construction workers kidnapped in Libya were snatched by people smugglers to protest Italy's crackdown on illegal migration from the strife-torn north African nation, the Libyan Ambassador said Wednesday.

 Little development has been brought to light regarding the fates of the workers kidnapped in Libya last Sunday, who were returning from Tunisia that evening. The kidnapping occurred in a contested area in the west, notorious for terrorist activity and being the scene of conflicts between the two main militia groups of the North African country.

However, the Libyan ambassador in Rome Ahmed Safar has revealed what local investigators working in West Libya suspect to be the grounds of the abduction: one or more human traffickers who have acted in response to a mission which aims to identify boats carrying illegal immigrants from the Libyan coast to Europe. Safar has stressed that situations such as these usually have a peaceful resolution once the individuals responsible are identified.

Safar thus rules out the possibility that the kidnapping is a message to Italy for their role in the Libyan crisis, who earlier this year considered to send in troops to resolve the conflict. He also adds that the driver who took the Italian workers, who the kidnappers had left unscathed, did not mention in his statement that the kidnappers were clearly of a radical or political position.

However, Italian foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni has said that any speculation on the motives for the kidnapping is “premature”, but has assured that it is not a revenge abduction against Italy. Gentiloni has also said that Italy will not be sending thousands of soldiers to Libya, despite previously considering to do so.