The FACTS: About Gunmen seizing Libyan PM Ali Zeidan >>>
"They have various agendas -- financial, territorial, political, religious -- and operate with impunity two years after the Gadhafi regime ended. Successive interim governments have failed to assert control over these militias, preferring to contract them as parallel forces to the army and police."
In a statement issued Thursday, the rights group said it was "deeply troubled" by Zeidan's detention, which it described as a clear violation of Libyan law.
"The incident highlights the grave security conditions in Libya today. Hopefully it will refocus attention on the urgent need to strengthen both the country's security forces and its judicial systems," it said.
Recent attacks have added to the uncertainty in Libya.
Gangs of armed men have surrounded key ministries, including the Justice Ministry, trying to force out members of the democratically elected government.
Libyan Justice Minister Salah Marghani was forced to evacuate after armed militias surrounded his ministry in April.
Libyan intelligence services have warned that the country is becoming a haven for al Qaeda to regroup and regenerate itself.
Numerous weapons left over after Gadhafi's downfall are providing groups with different motivations to form their own militias, government officials said.
U.S. operation
On Saturday, U.S. forces swooped into Tripoli and seized a Libyan national indicted in the 1998 American Embassy bombings in East Africa.
Abu Anas al-Libi is a suspect in the embassy attacks in Kenya and Tanzania, and American officials have described him as "one of the world's most wanted terrorists."
The militia group said the prime minister's capture had nothing to do with the arrest of al-Libi. However, three days ago, it issued a warning that whoever collaborated with "foreign intelligence services" in the arrest of the terror suspect would be punished.
It's unclear if Zeidan played a role in the arrest of al-Libi by U.S. forces.
But the Libyan government has decried the arrest of the terror suspect, and its national congress Tuesday demanded that the United States hand him over.
The foreign minister, Abdelaziz, denied that Zeidan's abduction had anything to do with the American operation.
"I don't really see the relevance of this abduction to that what happened," he said, "because the debate in relation to the disagreements between some of the military groups and the government officials -- it was there for some time."
In a statement issued Thursday, the rights group said it was "deeply troubled" by Zeidan's detention, which it described as a clear violation of Libyan law.
"The incident highlights the grave security conditions in Libya today. Hopefully it will refocus attention on the urgent need to strengthen both the country's security forces and its judicial systems," it said.
Recent attacks have added to the uncertainty in Libya.
Gangs of armed men have surrounded key ministries, including the Justice Ministry, trying to force out members of the democratically elected government.
Libyan Justice Minister Salah Marghani was forced to evacuate after armed militias surrounded his ministry in April.
Libyan intelligence services have warned that the country is becoming a haven for al Qaeda to regroup and regenerate itself.
Numerous weapons left over after Gadhafi's downfall are providing groups with different motivations to form their own militias, government officials said.
U.S. operation
On Saturday, U.S. forces swooped into Tripoli and seized a Libyan national indicted in the 1998 American Embassy bombings in East Africa.
Abu Anas al-Libi is a suspect in the embassy attacks in Kenya and Tanzania, and American officials have described him as "one of the world's most wanted terrorists."
The militia group said the prime minister's capture had nothing to do with the arrest of al-Libi. However, three days ago, it issued a warning that whoever collaborated with "foreign intelligence services" in the arrest of the terror suspect would be punished.
It's unclear if Zeidan played a role in the arrest of al-Libi by U.S. forces.
But the Libyan government has decried the arrest of the terror suspect, and its national congress Tuesday demanded that the United States hand him over.
The foreign minister, Abdelaziz, denied that Zeidan's abduction had anything to do with the American operation.
"I don't really see the relevance of this abduction to that what happened," he said, "because the debate in relation to the disagreements between some of the military groups and the government officials -- it was there for some time."
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