Former rebels group says It ‘arrested’ Libyan PM Zeidan

A group of former rebels in Libya said Thursday it had “arrested” Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, after he was seized by gunmen from a Tripoli hotel in a dawn raid.

The Operations Cell of Revolutionaries, which in principle reports to the defence and interior ministries, said on Facebook it had seized Zeidan “on the prosecutor’s orders”.

The premier “was arrested under the Libyan penal code… on the instructions of the public prosecutor”, the group said.

The group said it was on high alert “in light of the deterioration in security and damage to the country’s sovereignty by foreign intelligence bodies”.

“His arrest comes after the statement by John Kerry about the capture of Abu Anas al-Liby, after he said the Libyan government was aware of the operation,” a spokesman for the group said, referring to the US Secretary of State.

Earlier in the day the government confirmed Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan was kidnapped Thursday with an official statement on its website.