Abducted Libyan Prime Minister regains Freedom...

 

Libyan prime minister Ali Zeidan today said that he is 'fine' after being freed by militants who kidnapped him from a hotel in Tripoli and demanded that he resign.
The kidnapping was carried out by a militia this morning in revenge for the government's role in the capture of a top Al Qaeda suspect by U.S. troops.
But Mr Zeidan was released six hours after he and two of his guards were snatched from the Corinthia Hotel, where he lives, and returned to government headquarters.
After regaining his freedom, the prime minister tweeted: 'I am fine, thank God. If the aim of the kidnapping operation was for me to present my resignation, then I won't resign. We are taking small steps, but in the right direction.'

He told his cabinet: 'We hope this matter will be treated with wisdom and rationality, far from tension,' he said. 'There are many things that need dealing with.'
He later appealed for calm in a television broadcast, saying: 'I hope this problem will be resolved with reason and wisdom' and without any 'escalation'.
Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague expressed relief at the news, tweeting: 'I welcome release of Libyan PM. We will work with Libyan gov on ensuring the transition remains on track and insecurity is addressed.'
A spokesman for the Operations Room of Libya's Revolutionaries, a group of former rebels, claimed responsibility for Mr Zeidan's adbuction and blamed the U.S. operation which captured suspected terrorist Abu Anas al-Liby.
'His arrest comes after... John Kerry said the Libyan government was aware of the operation,' the spokesman said.