Libya's deputy intelligence chief Mustafa Nuh was abducted Sunday in Tripoli, a security official said, as the capital observed a three-day strike after deadly unrest triggered fears of civil war.
The violence was the deadliest in the city since the 2011 uprising and erupted Friday when demonstrators took to the streets to protest against an unruly militia of ex-rebels who helped to topple dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
At least 43 people were killed and more than 450 wounded in violence that raged overnight and into Saturday, the health ministry said.
Tripoli city council late Saturday announced a three-day strike across the private and public sector to mourn the dead, also urging citizens to exercise "calm and restraint".
But people exasperated by the government's failure to rein in militias set fires ablaze and put up barricades on major roads, blocking them to traffic amid calls for civil disobedience, AFP reporters said.
As reports emerged that deputy intelligence chief Mustafa Nuh had been kidnapped, dozens of protesters broke into the General National Congress (GNC), Libya's parliament and top political authority.
"We demand brave decisions from the Congress to put an end to the presence of militias in the capital," one demonstrator told AFP.
A security official said that Nuh was abducted on Sunday by unknown individuals shortly returning to Tripoli from a visit abroad.
A source at the intelligence services told AFP Nuh had "disappeared", but did not elaborate.
In October, gunmen briefly abducted Prime Minister Ali Zeidan in the capital, and a few days later a security official claimed responsibility for the operation and said he was "proud" of it.
Libya's embattled government has struggled to rein in former rebel brigades that helped end Kadhafi's 40-year dictatorship but have since grown into increasingly menacing militias.
Analysts have warned of further unrest unless the militias are disarmed.
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