Gunmen surrounded Libya's foreign ministry building on Sunday to push demands that officials
who had worked for deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi's government be banned from
senior positions in the new administration.
However, Libyan officials have been unable to agree
the terms of the law.
At least 20 pick-up trucks loaded with anti-aircraft
guns blocked the roads while men armed with AK-47s and sniper rifles directed
the traffic away from the building, witnesses said.
Armed groups have targeted state buildings in the
past, storming the General National Congress (GNC) on several occasions.
Witnesses said that they came in the
morning with their cars and surrounded the building.
There are about 15 cars. They asked all the employees
and the minister to leave the building. The minister got into his car and left.
They were not aggressive. There was no shooting into
the air or anything like that," he added.
Since Sunday, armed groups have blocked off the roads
leading to the foreign ministry building in Tripoli, although are not reported
to have entered the ministry itself.
In March, protesters barricaded members of the GNC
inside the building for hours, insisting they adopt the law keeping Gaddafi-era
officials out of politics.
Since Gaddafi's death, Tripoli and other Libyan cities
have been plagued by violence and infighting.
The government has recently tried to dismantle
militias that formed during and after the war that toppled the long-serving
leader.
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