This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/11/world/africa/libya.html
The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Gunmen Seize Libyan Prime Minister in Raid | Gunmen Seize Libyan Prime Minister in Raid |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Libya’s prime minister, Ali Zeidan, was taken captive early Thursday from his residence by unknown gunmen in the capital, Tripoli, according to a statement by the Libyan government. | Libya’s prime minister, Ali Zeidan, was taken captive early Thursday from his residence by unknown gunmen in the capital, Tripoli, according to a statement by the Libyan government. |
| “The head of the transitional government, Ali Zeidan, was taken to an unknown destination for unknown reasons by a group” of men believed to be former rebels, said the statement, which was excerpted on the Web site of Al Arabiya. | “The head of the transitional government, Ali Zeidan, was taken to an unknown destination for unknown reasons by a group” of men believed to be former rebels, said the statement, which was excerpted on the Web site of Al Arabiya. |
| The seizure comes as the Libyan government has faced criticism for last Saturday’s American raid to capture Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, a senior Qaeda militant who had been indicted in 2000 for his role in the 1998 bombings of the United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Senior American officials said the Libyan government tacitly approved that raid, along with another operation to seize a militia leader suspected of carrying out the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks on the United States diplomatic mission in Benghazi. | The seizure comes as the Libyan government has faced criticism for last Saturday’s American raid to capture Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, a senior Qaeda militant who had been indicted in 2000 for his role in the 1998 bombings of the United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Senior American officials said the Libyan government tacitly approved that raid, along with another operation to seize a militia leader suspected of carrying out the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks on the United States diplomatic mission in Benghazi. |
| After the prime minister’s seizure, Reuters quoted an insurgent leader as saying that the operation was carried out because of the Libyan government’s prior knowledge of Saturday’s raid. | |
| “His arrest comes after the statement by John Kerry about the capture of Abu Anas al-Libi, after he said the Libyan government was aware of the operation,” said a spokesman for the group, known as the Operations Room of Libya’s Revolutionaries, referring to the United States secretary of state and using Mr. Ruqai’s nom de guerre. | |
| Mr. Zeidan took office in the fall of 2012 after previously working as a human rights lawyer in Geneva, where he was a leader of an exiled opposition group, the National Front for the Salvation of Libya. He was chosen as prime minister with the backing of the Parliament’s two largest blocs of voters — the relatively secular coalition formed around the wartime civilian leader Mahmoud Jibril, and the moderate Islamist coalition formed by Libya’s Muslim Brotherhood. | Mr. Zeidan took office in the fall of 2012 after previously working as a human rights lawyer in Geneva, where he was a leader of an exiled opposition group, the National Front for the Salvation of Libya. He was chosen as prime minister with the backing of the Parliament’s two largest blocs of voters — the relatively secular coalition formed around the wartime civilian leader Mahmoud Jibril, and the moderate Islamist coalition formed by Libya’s Muslim Brotherhood. |
| Mr. Zeidan’s government has teetered on the brink of collapse recently, particularly with revelations about the American raid last weekend. His government has little control over vast parts of the country, particularly in the eastern part near Benghazi. | Mr. Zeidan’s government has teetered on the brink of collapse recently, particularly with revelations about the American raid last weekend. His government has little control over vast parts of the country, particularly in the eastern part near Benghazi. |
| The disclosure of the American raid, which was supposed to have been kept secret, led to concerns that the intended target of the other planned operation, Ahmed Abu Khattala, had been tipped off that the United States had the ability to conduct an operation in Libya. | The disclosure of the American raid, which was supposed to have been kept secret, led to concerns that the intended target of the other planned operation, Ahmed Abu Khattala, had been tipped off that the United States had the ability to conduct an operation in Libya. |
| The Web site for Al Arabiya carried a picture that it said was issued by Mr. Zeidan’s captors, showing the prime minister while he was being held. | The Web site for Al Arabiya carried a picture that it said was issued by Mr. Zeidan’s captors, showing the prime minister while he was being held. |