Libyan PM Says Controlling Militias ‘Beyond the Capability of Anyone’

Ali Zeidan blames the deteriorating security situation on 'various parties' in and outside the government

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Ismail Zetouni / Reuters

Libya's Prime Minister Ali Zeidan speaks during a news conference in Tripoli on Jan. 3, 2013

Libya’s Prime Minister said at a press conference on Sunday that his country was awash in militancy and that he was “swimming against the current,” according to the Associated Press.

Two years after the killing of Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi, Ali Zeidan offered a frank assessment of the threats to his administration. He pointed the finger not only at heavily armed militias, like the one that temporarily held him hostage earlier this month, but also “various parties” within the government, including retired army commanders, whom he accused of hindering his attempts to beef up security forces. “What can we do?” Zeidan asked. “We are not a state like a normal one.”

[AP]