Libyan prime minister 'set free'

Libya's prime minister was seized and held for several hours on Thursday by former rebel militiamen angry at the weekend capture by U.S. special forces of a Libyan al Qaeda suspect in Tripoli.

Ali Zeidan was freed unharmed but the incident underlined the anarchy prevailing in the oil-rich North African state, two years after the Western-backed overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.

A Reuters reporter saw Zeidan, a former diplomat opposed to Islamist radicals, arriving at his office after his ordeal.

The prime minister was expected to give an account shortly of his six hours or so in captivity. Gunmen associated with the fragmented Libyan security apparatus had hauled him at dawn from the luxury hotel where he lives under heavy guard.

Zeidan had distanced his government from U.S. assertions it had cooperated in Saturday's capture of Abu Anas al-Liby, wanted for the al Qaeda bombing of the U.S. embassy in Kenya in 1998. But the group which seized Zeidan appeared to hold him responsible for helping Washington's operation.

His brief detention was the latest of many incidents that demonstrate Libya's post-Gaddafi turmoil. Its vulnerable central government and nascent armed forces are struggling to contain rival tribal militias and Islamist militants who control large parts of the country.

The militia, which was hired by the government to provide security in Tripoli, said it "arrested" Zeidan after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Libya had a role in the capture of Liby, whose real name is Nazih al-Ragye.

"His arrest comes after ... (Kerry) said the Libyan government was aware of the operation," a spokesman for the group, known as the Operations Room of Libya's Revolutionaries, told Reuters. Adding to confusion, Libyan television later carried a denial from the Operations Room that it was involved.

The government said Zeidan had been "kidnapped".

He was elected by the interim legislature a year ago next week, when he pledged to bring the rule of law to a country where the U.S. ambassador had been killed the previous month in an attack on Washington's consulate in Benghazi.

Zeidan, who lived in exile in Geneva, was among those who persuaded French and British leaders to support the 2011 revolt against Gaddafi. Last month, on a visit to London, he appealed for more Western support to rein in the former rebels.

Geoff Porter of North Africa Risk consulting said: "His kidnapping clearly indicates that his government is not cohesive, and that not only is his government not in control of the country, but that he is not in control of his government."

Before his release, an official in the Interior Ministry anti-crime department told the state news agency that Zeidan, a former diplomat and exile opposition activist against Gaddafi, was being held there and was being treated well.

The prime minister, who is in his early 60s and has held the post for the past year, was taken from the Corinthia Hotel, where many diplomats and top government officials live. It is regarded as one of the most secure places in Tripoli.

A tweet attributed to Zeidan after his release was reported by government officials was disowned by other officials.

The kidnapping, however brief, raised the stakes in the unruly OPEC nation, where the regional factions are also seeking control over its oil wealth, which provides Libya with the vast bulk of government revenues. Reuters