Libya PM briefly abducted in sign of chaos
Print Edition
Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zidan was abducted by gunmen who snatched him from his hotel and held him for several hours yesterday in apparent retaliation for a US special forces raid that captured an al-Qaida suspect in the capital Tripoli last weekend.
The brazen abduction, which ended with Zidan’s rescue, underscored the lawlessness gripping Libya two years after the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi. The weak central government is virtually hostage to multiple, independent-minded militias — many of them made up of Islamic militants — that serve as security forces and hold sway across the country.
The gunmen who abducted Zidan were believed to be militiamen, and it appeared he was freed when members of another militia stormed the site where he was being held.
Yesterday afternoon, after authorities announced he had been freed, Zidan spoke at a Cabinet meeting aired live on Libyan TV. He thanked those who helped free him but provided no details and avoided pointing fingers at those behind the abduction.
“We hope this matter will be treated with wisdom and rationality, far from tension,” he said. “There are many things that need dealing with.”
The incident raised alarm over the power that militias hold over government officials. The militias originated in the informal brigades of “revolutionaries” who fought Gadhafi’s forces in the 2011 revolt against his rule. Since Gahdafi’s ouster and death, the groups have resisted efforts to disarm them, multiplied in number and mushroomed in size.
With the regular police forces and army weak and in disarray, the government has had to enlist some militias to act as security forces. But they often remain more loyal to their own agendas and commanders than the state, and many have hard-line Islamic ideologies sympathetic to al-Qaida.
“The abduction is like the shock that awakened Libyans. Facts on the ground now are clearer than never before: Libya is ruled by militias,” said prominent rights campaigner Hassan al-Amin.
The motive for Zidan’s abduction was not immediately known. But it comes after many Islamic militants and militias expressed outrage over the USraid last Saturday that seized al-Qaida suspect Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai. They accused Zidan’s government of colluding in the operation and allowing foreigners to snatch a Libyan from Libyan soil. The government said it had no knowledge of the raid.
Before daylight yesterday, around 150 gunmen in pickup trucks laid siege to downtown Tripoli’s luxury Corinthia Hotel, where Zidan resides. A large group of them entered the building, some stayed in the lobby while others headed to Zidan’s residence on the 21st floor.
The gunmen scuffled with the prime minister’s guards before they seized him and led him out at around 5.15am. They said Zidan offered no resistance while he was being led away.
The circumstances of his freeing were unclear. In the afternoon, government spokesman Mohammed Kaabar told the LANA new agency that Zidan had been “set free.” The brief report gave no further information.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
