AFP: TRIPOLI: Libyan militiamen withdrew their machine-gun-equipped pickup trucks from outside two ministries Wednesday, but pressed their protests for more concessions from the government, an AFP journalist reported.

 

They had surrounded the Foreign Ministry on April 28 and the Justice Ministry two days later to demand a law barring former officials from the ousted regime of Moammar Gadhafi from government posts.

 

The law was passed by the General National Congress Sunday.

 

But protesters in military uniform were still outside the Foreign and Justice ministries after the pullback.

 

The move came a day after residents of the area around the Foreign Ministry in central Tripoli organized a protest in front of the building against the presence of weapons in their area.

 

“We want to cleanse the Foreign and Justice ministries in Libya. There are no more weapons. From now on, it will be a peaceful protest,” said Mohammad Soula, who had come from the western town of Sabratha, one of the protesters who said he had fought to oust Gadhafi.

 

Among the demands are calls for the resignation of Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, who served under Gadhafi before going over to the revolution.

 

The U.S., French and British embassies in Tripoli issued a joint statement Wednesday calling on “all Libyans to refrain from armed protest and violence.”

 

“It is vital that the country’s institutions operate free from armed intimidation,” the statement added.

 

“The international community is observing the country with concern during this critical time in the transition,” the embassies noted, urging Libyans to support their democratically elected leaders.