The Libyan revolution had witnessed journos being kept under control by the pro-Gaddafi forces from the start.  This was seriously contemplated by the scribes across. In a fresh incident on Wednesday four Italian journalists were abducted while they were travelling between Tripoli and Zawiya, by car. Reports suggest that the four of them are kept as hostages in apartments in southern suburbs of Tripoli.

As they were travelling, some where about 80 km away from Libya, they were attacked by armed assailants. The abducted were two correspondents of Corriere della Sera newspaper, Elisabetta Rosaspina and Guiseppe Sarcina, along with Domenico Quirico, a correspondent from La Stampa daily, and Claudio Monici, a correspondent from Avvenire newspaper.

The car carrying journalists was stopped by armed assailants on Wednesday. They killed the driver, robbed the journalists and then handed them over to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's supporters.

It may be noted that journos from across the world were held almost as hostages at the Rixos Hotel. On Wednesday, the journalists who were trapped in the hotel by regime guards for several days were freed unharmed. The luxury hotel, with its pillared lobby and opulent decor, now looked like a gilded cage set amid the eucalyptus trees.

European Union foreign policy Chief Catherine Ashton has expressed hope that the journalists would be rescued as soon as possible.