TRIPOLI: Rebels grabbed Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan on Thursday morning from the Corinthia Hotel in the Libyan capital and took him to an unknown location, the government and sources said.
The hotel’s security guards later confirmed the reports, with one guard describing the situation as an “arrest.”
On the other hand, a group of former Libyan rebels said it seized Prime Minister Ali Zeidan over “national security and corruption”, adding that his government was involved in the US capture of a top al-Qaeda suspect in the Libyan capital.
“His arrest comes after the statement by John Kerry about the capture of Abu Anas al-Libi, after he said the Libyan government was aware of the operation,” a spokesman for the group, known as the Operations Room of Libya’s Revolutionaries, said refering to the US Secretary of State.
The incident takes place two years after the deposal of Libya’s autocratic ruler Muammar Gaddafi, which resulted in widespread chaos involving many players and factions all vying for power in different parts of the country, with the government still trying to bring the situation under control.