TRIPOLI, Libya — The abduction was brief but still audacious: Gunmen from one of Libya’s many militias stormed a hotel where the prime minister has a residence and held him for several hours Thursday — apparently in retaliation for his government’s alleged collusion with the U.S. in a raid last weekend that captured an al-Qaeda suspect.
The seizure of Prime Minister Ali Zidan heightened the alarm over the power of unruly militias that virtually hold the weak central government hostage. Many of the militias include Islamic militants and have ideologies similar to al-Qaeda’s. The armed bands use violence to intimidate officials to sway policies, gunning down security officials and kidnapping their relatives.
At the same time, the state relies on militias to act as security forces because the police and military remain in disarray after dictator Moammar Khadafy was overthrown and killed in 2011.
Many militias are paid by the Defense or Interior ministries — which are in charge of the military and police, respectively — although the ministries are still unable to control them.
Not only was Zidan abducted by militiamen who work in a state body, it took other militias to rescue him.
“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.
Zidan’s abduction came before dawn Thursday, when about 150 gunmen in pickup trucks stormed the luxury Corinthia Hotel in downtown Tripoli, witnesses said. They swarmed into the hobby and some charged up to Zidan’s residence on the 21st floor.
The gunmen scuffled with Zidan’s guards before they seized him and led him out about 5:15 a.m., said the witnesses, speaking on condition of anonymity.
In the afternoon, government spokesman Mohammed Kaabar told the LANA news agency that Zidan had been “set free.”
A militia commander affiliated with the Interior Ministry said his fighters, along with armed groups from two Tripoli districts, Souq Jomaa and Tajoura, stormed the house where Zidan was being held, exchanged fire with the captors, and rescued him.
“He is now safe in a safe place,” said Haitham al-Tajouri, commander of the Reinforcement Force, to Al-Ahrar TV.
Zidan later appeared at a Cabinet session that was broadcast live.
“We hope this matter will be treated with wisdom and rationality, far from tension,” he said. “There are many things that need dealing with.”
White House spokesman Jay Carney said the U.S. condemned Zidan’s kidnapping. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that Washington was helping the Libyan government build its security capacities.
