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Updated 11.05am
LIBYAN PRIME MINISTER Ali Zeidan has been released several hours after being seized from a Tripoli hotel by former rebel militiamen, the country’s foreign minister has said.
“He has been freed but we have no details so far on the circumstances of his release,” Mohammed Abdelaziz told AFP.
The pre-dawn seizure of Zeidan came five days after US commandos embarrassed and angered Libya’s government by capturing senior Al-Qaeda suspect Abu Anas al-Libi off the streets of Tripoli and whisking him away to a warship.
A source in the premier’s office said Zeidan had been taken by gunmen from Tripoli’s Corinthia Hotel, where he resides. A hotel employee confirmed a pre-dawn raid by “a large number of armed men”.
A government statement said Zeidan had been taken “to an unknown destination for unknown reasons by a group” of men believed to be former rebels.
The Operations Cell of Libyan Revolutionaries, comprising former rebels and which had roundly denounced Libi’s abduction and blamed Zeidan’s government for it, said it had “arrested” Zeidan under orders from the public prosecutor.
But the cabinet said on its Facebook page that ministers were “unaware of immunity being lifted or of any arrest warrant” for the premier.
Thursday’s government statement said it suspected both the Operations Cell of Libyan Revolutionaries and the Brigade for the Fight against Crime of being behind the raid that netted Zeidan.
Both groups loosely fall under the control of the defence and interior ministries but largely operate autonomously.
Two years after the revolution that toppled Muammar Gaddafi, Libya’s new authorities are struggling to rein in tribal militias and groups of former rebels.
Zeidan, who was named prime minister a year ago, had on Tuesday condemned the US raid, where senior Al-Qaeda suspect Abu Anas al-Libi was captured and whisked him away to a warship.
He insisted that all Libyans should be tried on home soil.
The General National Congress has demanded that Washington “immediately” hand back Libi, claiming his capture was a flagrant violation of the country’s sovereignty.
Many Libyans blame political rivalries for the problems plaguing a country awash with militias and weaponry left over from the 2011 revolution that toppled Kadhafi.
- © AFP 2013.
First published 7.33am
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Coveney is turning into a great man for telling everybody what Ireland’s views are on everything, but the gap between official Ireland which coveney represents and the real people has never been wider.
@Adrian: His own family backround has questions that were never fully explained…
@Adrian: Sorry Adrian you are not the real people and you speak for nobody but yourself.
@Sean Conway: like what?
@Adrian: No True Scotsman eh…
BTW the entire purpose of a foreign minister is to tell people what the opinion of the Irish people is on various topics. I think that the world in general understands that he does not speak with 100% coverage of all individual opinions on the island.
@Dennis Laffey: when he was minister for housing, it was pointless expensive housing launches every second week, and the figures ended up getting worse. Now its, there was a crime committed in the UK, we support the British gov in catching the criminals. He’s Ireland’s most pointless politician!
@Adrian: Another useless and partisan post from our Adrian. Our much respected Tanaiste will never get a fair review from this clown.
@Donal Hanley: See good news just released from Michael Barnier and Simon Coveney that our open border will remain following agreement with May.
Coveney should be sent to Coventry. Failure in every ministerial portfolio he has held. He certainly doesn’t speak for me.
@Paul Fahey: Questions about his father…
@Adrian: what gives you the knowledge to say that ?
@Donal Hanley: that’s not actually true
I’m sure the perpetrators are petrified by this announcement.
@Ben Guy: Yet, you’d be on here complaining of the Irish Government didn’t take a position in the issue
@Tweety McTweeter:
I only complain when our government repeatedly comments on issues that have zero relevance to us.
It’s becoming quite embarrassing how we seem to think we are an important country when in fact we have zero influence to anyone.
@Ben Guy: So when a foreign power in this case Russia uses WMD on a neighbours public streets it has no relevance to us? And if they do it again and an Irish Citizen is contaminated by it would it be relevant to us? They have done so twice, who’s to say there won’t be a third?
@Ben Guy:
You’d be claiming Ireland was supporting the Russians to hurt poor old Brexit Britain if the Irish government said nothing.
Grow up Benny, not our fault Britain is powerless.
@Ben Guy: it has a lot of relevance to us. Stop talking bull
Hope he is also concerned about the British handing over the files on their Dublin Monaghan bombing activities. Sorry, forgot that this is a FG minister.
I’m sure Putin is quaking in his boots to know that Coveney is keeping his eye on him.
Speak for your self.
@Declan Carr: minister for terrorism coveney speaks for everyone!
@jon-boy55: why is he Minister for terrorism ? What sort of bull statement is that ? What planet ore you on ?
The EU’s favourite nodding donkey.
And so Ireland should, Russia has this weird notion that they’re a super power, you can’t come into someone’s country and poison someone along with hurting police officers etc in the process, they’re dead right to do what they’re doing and if Russia expelles some of their ambassadors etc then so be it..
@George O Neill: one day you may figure it out that’s how they operate. They aren”t called an intelligence agency for being dim.
@George O Neill: one day u may figure out that’s how they operate. They aren’t called an intelligence agency for being dim.
@George O Neill: How do you know that
@: what hard evidence is there that Russia did it can’t believe that they could be so sloppy
@George O Neill: wow, must of missed the release of all of the critical evidence. Where and how did you see what the intelligence services and police had?
@Martin Critten: one day you may figure out how to operate two accounts with intelligence
@JimmyMc: haha
England has this weird notion that it still has an empire. An alleged Russian attack on a Russian who was caught Spying for the British now becomes center stage. If the British were so concerned about attacks on innocent people, they should stop supplying arms to Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Yes , Russia, U.S. also supply arms , but the British outrage is comical, especially when one considers their colonial past.
@Donal Desmond: And their arms industry sales have got what to do with a WMD being used in Salisbury?
Do they sell Nerve Agent or Radioactive Polonium? When they do you may have a point. But until they do your rant has no connection to the above act.
@George O Neill: even trump believes that they are behind it
@Mick Jordan: A bullet manufacturerd in England, U.S., Russia and sold to keep their proxy wars alive will kill you just as fast as a chemical..again the main story on most media, the attack on a Russian spy… he was not a Russian spy .. He betrayed his country… He was cought spying for the British.
Britain should just hit Putin’s cronies with property in the UK with Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs). If they can’t come up with a plausible explanation then the property should be seized and their Visas should be cancelled.
Speaks for itself that Ireland supports the UK investigation, with the govt smart enough not to lay direct blame on the Kremlin at this point.
What’s more interesting is the words ‘no backsliding’ w.r.t. the December deal about the Irish border. That’s London’s own post-referendum Brexit slogan being used against itself. Keep the pressure on, Simon.
Clever enough. Doesn’t blame the Russians.
@Etherman: yeah I spotted that too. Seems a lot of commenters just want to be mad at him but all he said really is “attempted murder is bad, we support Britain’s right to take action against attempted murderers” which I would assume most people agree with
@Dave O Keeffe: That concept is too controversial for some, it would seem! Maybe the commenters above believe that the perpetrators shouldn’t be held responsible…
If the spies are caught they’ll be looking to be tried in Ireland that why they’ll be home for xmas
Well there’s neutrality for ya! Why hasn’t the UK given the evidence to the Russians as requested? It’s very similar to the US blaming Bin Laden (may Allah forgive him) for 9/11 and insisting the Taliban hand him over. They requested evidence and said they would even send him to trial, they just needed the evidence. It NEVER came, instead they were met with war and destruction for their insistence on a fair and just trial.
So Russia had this guy in prison for 10 years for been a spy, then they released him, and poisoned him with a nerve agent invented by Russia, drawing condemnation from all world leaders. No hard evidence that it’s Russia, just a gut feeling, a war with Russia would be the war that finishes civilization, Putin said, if there’s no Russia, there’s no world.
✔️George O Neill ex Russian spy probably caused deaths of other spy’s give him an aspro on concentrate on the health of the copper
@Patrick Coffey: And what of his daughter? And all the people of Salisbury who’s lives have been disrupted?
@Mick Jordan: what of the Dublin / Monaghan bombings. The British government still refuse to release the files. The Irish government still refuse to take them to task. Yet the Irish government jump on to support an alleged attack by Russia on a British spy on the word of a British prime minister.
Haha…what happens if it was the UK responsible….Simon would look rather silly then.
have your say