Tunisia said Monday that it was negotiating for the release of 172 nationals being held by a Libyan militia as bargaining chips for one of its commanders detained in Tunis.

Tunisia said Monday that it was negotiating for the release of 172 nationals being held by a Libyan militia as bargaining chips for one of its commanders detained in Tunis.

The foreign ministry's Arab and African affairs chief Touhami Abdouli said the Tunisians had been detained in western Libya by a militia that is part of the Libya Dawn alliance which controls the capital Tripoli and third city Misrata.

"We are going to try to make the effort to resolve this at the political level," Abdouli told Shems-FM radio. "I am optimistic."