Gunmen kidnap Tripoli government minister in Libya

Gunmen have kidnapped a minister in Libya's Tripoli-based government, parliament said on Tuesday, and accused a group linked to its own interior minister of being behind the abduction.

 The security and defence commission of the General National Congress (GNC) said in a statement that it "strongly condemned" the kidnap of Mohamad al-Gaddar, Tripoli's planning minister, by "an armed group linked to the interior minister".

 It accused the same group of attacking the GNC's government headquarters.

 Libya descended into chaos after the October 2011 ouster and killing of longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi, with two governments vying for power and armed groups battling to control its vast energy resources.

 A militia alliance including Islamists overran Tripoli in August 2014, establishing a rival government and a parliament that forced the internationally recognised administration to flee to the country's remote east.

 The Fajr Libya militia in control of Tripoli told AFP that Gaddar was kidnapped on Monday and had yet to be released.

Caption:Representative image of a member of the Libyan pro-government forces, stands near a tank in Libya

Photo Credit:VOA