The ministry said the newspaper journalists included two from the Milan daily Corriere della Sera, one from Turin’s La Stampa and one from Avvenire, a national Catholic daily.
It said the abductions occurred Wednesday on a stretch of highway between Zawiah, a town 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Tripoli, and the Libyan capital.
Italian news reports said the Avvenire reporter was able to make a call to Milan saying the four Italians were OK.
Libyan Foreign Minister Abdelati Obeidi said on Wednesday Libya’s civil war was virtually over, in an interview with Britain’s Channel 4 News.
Asked if the conflict was finished, Obeidi said: “Yes, this is my feeling.”
“If I am in charge, I would tell them to lay down their arms,” he said, referring to fighters loyal to Muammar Qaddafi.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says Libya’s crisis hasn’t ended with the fall of Muammar Qaddafi’s government, but rather is just beginning.
Chavez is condemning US and European countries for NATO’s airstrikes during Libya’s conflict. He says that “they’ve destroyed a country.”
Chavez says he thinks “the tragedy in Libya is just beginning.”
Chavez has been a staunch defender of Qaddafi throughout the conflict and recently called the country’s rebels a “group of terrorists.”
He made his latest remarks in response to questions from reporters after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
