TONGONI
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- Feb 18, 2011
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Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has been kidnapped by unknown militants from his residence in the capital Tripoli, a well-placed source in his media office has told the BBC.
Reports say that Mr Zeidan has been taken to an unknown destination, but details remain unclear. Some reports say he has been detained.
On Tuesday Mr Zeidan called on the West to help stop militancy in Libya.
In an interview with the BBC he said it was being used as a weapons base.
The prime minister told the Newsnight programme that his country was being used to export weapons throughout the region. Two years after the revolt which overthrew Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's government has been struggling to contain rival tribal militias and Islamist militants who control parts of the country.
On Monday Libya questioned the US ambassador over the capture of suspected al-Qaeda leader Anas al-Liby in Tripoli.
Mr Liby was wanted over the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. He was seized by US commandos in an early morning raid on Saturday.
Last month Mr Zeidan visited the UK and appealed for British help to remove weapons from the country amid fears of increased arms smuggling to Syria.
In April he urged Libyans to back their government in the face of "people who want to destabilise the country".
He also complained at that time of other attacks and "acts of sabotage" carried out by separate groups, against the interior ministry and national TV headquarters.
Libya n PM Ali Zeidan freed from captivity .... Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has been released hours after being seized by militiamen, the government says.
A former rebel group loosely allied to the government, the Revolutionaries Operations Room, had detained Mr Zeidan, saying they were acting on the orders of the prosecutor general.
The justice ministry had denied this.
The militia was one of several groups angered by a US commando raid on Libyan soil on Saturday which seized senior al-Qaeda suspect Anas al-Liby.
Many saw US the raid as a breach of Libyan sovereignty amid growing pressure on the government to explain if it was involved.
'No warrant' Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdelaziz told AFP news agency Mr Zeidan he had been freed, but added, "we have no details so far on the circumstances of his release".
A government spokesman quoted by official Libyan news agency Lana earlier said the prime minister was free and on his way to the office.
The prime minister had been captured in a raid on the Corinthia Hotel by more than 100 armed men.
The Revolutionaries Operations Room said it was acting on the orders of the prosecutor general in accordance with Libya's criminal code.
However, state-run National Libyan TV quoted Justice Minister Salah al-Marghani as saying that the prosecutor general had issued no warrant for Mr Zeidan's arrest.
The Revolutionaries Operations Room is one of a number of militias operating in Libya - they are nominally attached to government ministries but often act independently and, correspondents say, often have the upper hand over police and army forces.
The government has been struggling to contain these militia, who control parts of the country, two years after the revolt which overthrew Muammar Gaddafi.
In a press conference shortly before the release was announced, the government condemned the "criminal act" of his detention and said it would not give in to "blackmail".
Reports say that Mr Zeidan has been taken to an unknown destination, but details remain unclear. Some reports say he has been detained.
On Tuesday Mr Zeidan called on the West to help stop militancy in Libya.
In an interview with the BBC he said it was being used as a weapons base.
The prime minister told the Newsnight programme that his country was being used to export weapons throughout the region. Two years after the revolt which overthrew Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's government has been struggling to contain rival tribal militias and Islamist militants who control parts of the country.
On Monday Libya questioned the US ambassador over the capture of suspected al-Qaeda leader Anas al-Liby in Tripoli.
Mr Liby was wanted over the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. He was seized by US commandos in an early morning raid on Saturday.
Last month Mr Zeidan visited the UK and appealed for British help to remove weapons from the country amid fears of increased arms smuggling to Syria.
In April he urged Libyans to back their government in the face of "people who want to destabilise the country".
He also complained at that time of other attacks and "acts of sabotage" carried out by separate groups, against the interior ministry and national TV headquarters.
Libya n PM Ali Zeidan freed from captivity .... Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has been released hours after being seized by militiamen, the government says.
A former rebel group loosely allied to the government, the Revolutionaries Operations Room, had detained Mr Zeidan, saying they were acting on the orders of the prosecutor general.
The justice ministry had denied this.
The militia was one of several groups angered by a US commando raid on Libyan soil on Saturday which seized senior al-Qaeda suspect Anas al-Liby.
Many saw US the raid as a breach of Libyan sovereignty amid growing pressure on the government to explain if it was involved.
'No warrant' Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdelaziz told AFP news agency Mr Zeidan he had been freed, but added, "we have no details so far on the circumstances of his release".
A government spokesman quoted by official Libyan news agency Lana earlier said the prime minister was free and on his way to the office.
The prime minister had been captured in a raid on the Corinthia Hotel by more than 100 armed men.
The Revolutionaries Operations Room said it was acting on the orders of the prosecutor general in accordance with Libya's criminal code.
However, state-run National Libyan TV quoted Justice Minister Salah al-Marghani as saying that the prosecutor general had issued no warrant for Mr Zeidan's arrest.
The Revolutionaries Operations Room is one of a number of militias operating in Libya - they are nominally attached to government ministries but often act independently and, correspondents say, often have the upper hand over police and army forces.
The government has been struggling to contain these militia, who control parts of the country, two years after the revolt which overthrew Muammar Gaddafi.
In a press conference shortly before the release was announced, the government condemned the "criminal act" of his detention and said it would not give in to "blackmail".
