LibyaLibya sliding toward anarchy: PM abducted, then released
In the most ominous sign yet that Libya is sliding toward anarchy two years after the rebellion that ended Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi’s four decades of dictatorship, members of a Libyan militia which is supportive of the government earlier today abducted the Libyan prime minister, Ali Zeidan, then released him after several hours. The anger in Libya over the U.S. Saturday operation to seize al Qaeda leader Abu Anas al-Libi, has intensified an already simmering anger toward the corrupt and ineffectual Zeidan government. On Monday, soldiers who were complaining that they had not been paid occupied Zeidan’s Tripoli office. Libyan oil production has been at a standstill since July, with striking troops in the east and tribal militias blockading ports and oilfields claiming oil revenues are being stolen by militias close to Zeidan or misspent. Libya does not have credible army, police, or security forces, and the government relies on freewheeling militias, formed during and after the anti-Qaddafi rebellion, to provide security.
The Libyan prime minister, Ali Zeidan, has returned earlier this morning (afternoon Libya time), under armed escort, to the Corinthia hotel in Tripoli from where he was kidnapped shortly after midnight Thursday.
The abductors appeared to be members of some of the semiautonomous militias which serve as the government’s primary police and security force, according to statements from the prime minister’s office and a coalition of militia leaders.
Police officers stationed around the hotel fled when they saw the kidnappers arrive, leaving the prime minister with no security detail.
After Zeidan was released and returned to the hotel, he called the leaders of militias loyal to him, and they sent their own members to provide security. Reporters in the city say that the militia members deployed outside the hotel have since been replaced by the same police officers, in their shiny red-and-white jeeps, who had fled their posts earlier.
The Guardian reports that some of these militia fighters have moved inside the hotel, where they are guarding entrances and windows, carrying machine guns and rocket launchers.
It is still unclear who kidnapped Zeidan, with Hashim Bishar, head of the Tripoli Supreme Security Committee – this is the official name of the government’s gendarmerie — claiming he was captured by an unidentified group and then released from his detention by Tripoli militias.
“Our revolutionaries went to the place where he was being detained and demanded he be handed over. He was handed over, now he is safe,” he told a Libyan TV station. He did not say who had kidnapped Zeidan from the Corinthia.
Some commentators link the short abduction to the anger among Libya’s powerful Islamic militant groups over the U.S. Saturday raid which seized Libyan al Qaeda leader Abu Anas al-Libi. Islmist groups and members of Libi’s clan charged that Zeidan’s government was an accomplice in the U.S. operation, something Zeidan – and members of his government — have denied.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Justice Minister Salah al-Maghrani appeared shocked at the news of the U.S. operation: “The news itself was definitely a surprise,” he said. “And having seen the prime minister the same night, I have not seen someone more surprised than the Prime Minister Ali Zeidan.”
State news service Lana had earlier today said that Zeidan was captured by the Revolutionary Operations Room of Libya, a nominally government-run security force composed of former anti-Qaddafi rebels. Lana quoted a statement from the group which said Zeidan would be charged under the Libyan penal code with endangering state security. The group, however, denied any involvement in the abduction.
The Libyan government itself found it necessary to issue a public denial that Zeidan was facing an arrest warrant. “The head of the transitional government, Ali Zeidan, was taken to an unknown destination for unknown reasons,” it said on its Web site, attributing the kidnapping to former rebels.
Militia guards outside the hotel told a Guardian reporter that Zeidan was “arrested” and that they were local volunteers who had arrived at the hotel to protect Zeidan after police units fled. Eyewitnesses told the reporter that Zeidan was taken from his room by armed men, with his bodyguards and hotel security units taking no action as he was led away from the hotel.
The Corinthia has been regarded by foreigners as an island of safety in a lawless country, where there are no meaningful police, army, or security services. Some countries have moved their embassies to the hotel, as has the European Union support mission.
The New York Times reports that with the exception of a few red-and-white police jeeps, the hotel is now guarded by armed men who claimed they were “revolutionaries” and had come to the hotel to help secure it instead of the police units which had vanished.
The anger over the U.S. operation has intensified an already simmering anger toward Zeidan and his corrupt cronies. On Monday, soldiers who were complaining that they had not been paid occupied Zeidan’s Tripoli office. They were persuaded to leave after one of the secretaries handed them bills from the office’s petty cash box.
Libya’s income has dried up, as oil production has been at a standstill since July, with striking troops in the east and tribal militias blockading ports and oilfields claiming oil revenues are being stolen by militias close to Zeidan or misspent.
The Justice and Construction party, which is the Libya affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood, has led efforts in the general national congress to have Zeidan dismissed, saying he has failed to curb militia violence, put an end to the oil strikes, and revive a moribund economy.
The Times notes that the kidnapping earlier today was the most ominous sign yet that Libya is sliding toward anarchy two years after the revolution that ended Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi’s four decades of dictatorship.
