Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan’s bizarre Thursday kidnapping by members of his own government’s security forces were part of an attempted “coup” by political rivals, according to Zeidan’s comments today.
“They wanted to overthrow the government,” Zeidan said, adding that members of the General National Council, the nation’s parliament, were involved in the plot.
The militia that captured Zeidan initially claimed to be executing an arrest warrant against him for corruption, and held him at the nation’s Interior Ministry before it was eventually revealed, hours later, that no such warrant existed.
Zeidan said his government will focus on security in the near term, pushing for militia factions not under the government’s direct control to disarm. His term in office remains very much in doubt, however, parliament is deadlocked on an election law and a “no confidence” vote against the current government could happen at any time.
