Gunmen on Monday demanded the Libyan government's resignation as they besieged ministries despite the adoption of a law to purge officials from the regime of Muammar Gaddafi from their posts.
Different groups at the justice and foreign ministries, however, failed to reach a shared position on their new demands or their reasons for pressing the siege.
"We are determined to continue our movement until the departure of (Prime Minister) Ali Zeidan," said Osama Kaabar, a leader of the militias who had promised to lift their siege if the law was passed.
The General National Congress (GNC), under pressure from the gunmen, on Sunday passed the controversial law to exclude former Gaddafi regime officials from public posts in a move that could see the premier removed from office.
An AFP correspondent reported that armed men in vehicles equipped with machine guns and anti-aircraft weapons still surrounded the foreign and justice ministries on Monday.
"The adoption of the law on political exclusion is a major step in the right direction. But we will take our time to examine certain aspects of the law," said Kaabar.
"On the other hand we are determined to bring down the government of Ali Zeidan," he said, accusing the premier of "provoking the thuwar," former rebels who fought Gaddafi's forces during the 2011 armed uprising.
Zeidan's government launched a campaign a few weeks ago to remove the militias from the capital Tripoli.
"We hope that Ali Zeidan recognizes his inability (to govern). I don't understand why this man is in such a post," said Kaabar, a former rebel close to Islamists.
"We reject any dialogue with the government," he said when asked about negotiations with the government.
Under the law passed Sunday, all those who held key official posts from September 1, 1969, when Kadhafi took power, until the fall of his regime in October 2011 will be excluded from government. The ban will remain in force for 10 years.
The draft law had caused a stir among Libya's political elite, as senior members of the government could be affected.
AFP