Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zidan Kidnapped

The Prime Minister of Libya, Ali Zidan, has been kidnapped in Tripoli, the capital of the north African Country NigerianEcho has learnt. Armed rebels escorted the prime minister from the Corinthian Hotel in Tripoli into a convoy of waiting cars. There was no report of gunfire during the incident, the gunmen were reported to have been respectful and “caused no trouble” on Thursday.

Libya militias have run rampant since the revolution that ousted Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

Militias in the east of the country are demanding more autonomy from the central government, and have severely constrained Libya’s oil output, which is central to its export revenue.

Zidan’s office initially called the abduction a “rumor” on its official Facebook page. Then it posted a note that said it was “coerced by kidnappers to deny the report.”

Last month, Zidan said the nation is trying to rebuild after decades under Gadhafi’s rule. He shot down reports that Libya is a failed state.

“We are trying to create a state, and we are not ashamed of that,” Zidan told a US based satelite TV anchor “The outside world believes that Libya is failing, but Libya was destroyed by Gadhafi for 42 years, and was destroyed by a full year of civil war. And that’s why we are trying to rebuild it.”