By Taher Zaroog and Ahmed Elumami.
Misrata and Tripoli, 18 November 2013:
Prime Minister Ali Zeidan appears to have cut short a high-level . . .[restrict]meeting in Misrata this evening, after angry revolutionary fighters arrived yelling for him to go.
He had flown into the city accompanied by seven of his senior ministers; for economy, justice, telecommunications, labour, culture and electricity. The last, Ali Muhairiq is head of the commission that has been given the job of enforcing Law 27, which obliges all armed militias to quit Libyan cities.
The government party had come to meet local elders and members of the Shura, as well as Misrata councillors in an apparent effort to ensure that the three-day withdrawal of the city’s brigades from Tripoli continues successfully.
The meeting had lasted for some 20 minutes with journalists present, before all observers were asked to leave and it went into private session. However, very shortly afterwards, angry fighters arrived outside demanding that city leaders cut no deals with the government and that Zeidan and his party leave. After about ten minutes of what one journalist described as “chaos”, the prime minister and his team withdrew.
Some Misratans said that Zeidan’s arrival by plane had been unexpected, yet the Libya Herald learnt this afternoon that the trip was likely to take place. [/restrict]
