Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan was kidnapped by a group of gunmen believed to be rebels in the capital city of Tripoli early Thursday, the interim government confirmed on its official Facebook page.

According to reports, the prime minister was kidnapped by armed rebels from a hotel in Tripoli and was later escorted by armed gunmen and taken to an undisclosed location. And, according to a Twitter post claimed to be from a member of the group that conducted the abduction, the prime minister "is fine" and "has made phone calls with his family and the government."

Zeidan recently called on the West to help stop militancy in Libya, which he said was being used as a base to export weapons throughout the region, BBC reported.

The interim government, in a statement on its Facebook page, urged for calm even as a photo, reportedly showing the prime minister at the moment of abduction, circulated on the social networking site.

Libya Twitter Al Jazeera