Libya PM: Parliament speaker didn't ask me to resign

Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan on Friday dismissed reports that parliament speaker Nouri Abusahmain had asked him to tender his resignation. Zeidan was released on Thursday following an hours-long abduction by members of an armed militia believed to belong to the Operations Room of Libya's Revolutionaries, although spokesmen for the latter have denied involvement in the kidnapping. In a televised speech to the nation, Zeidan described the abduction as "a coup against legitimacy." "It isn't about the prime minister; it's about the legitimacy of the government that came to power through elections that were hailed by the whole world," Zeidan said. A Libyan diplomatic source close to Zeidan told Anadolu Agency on Thursday that the prime minister and his immediate circle had expected him to be either assassinated or kidnapped in light of recent statements in which he openly criticized local militias. Last month, Zeidan condemned what he described as the emergence of an "armed militia," which, he said, had become widespread throughout the country. He accused this militia of striving to reverse recent political gains made by the Libyan people. The prime minister added that the militia constituted an obstacle to government efforts to get the North African country out of its current political crisis. Libyans have been struggling to restore order to their country since the death two years ago of longstanding strongman Muammar Gaddafi. In July, Libya's parliament entrusted the Operations Room of Libya's Revolutionaries with "securing" the capital, allocating 900 million dinars (roughly $7.6 million) for the group's budget.