Shots Fired at Libyan Parliament Building

Protesters fired shots at Libya's parliament building in Tripoli Tuesday, hitting it several times and prompting the session to be suspended but causing no casualties, a lawmaker told Agence France Presse.

Demonstrators have attacked or broken into the General National Congress (GNC) building several times in the past, either trying to force the adoption of laws or to air other grievances.

"We heard the shots before the bullets hit the front of the building," the congresswoman said on condition of anonymity.

Demonstrators calling for a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Ali Zeidan's government fired the shots, she added.

Security personnel helped lawmakers to evacuate the building.

The GNC, the country's highest political authority, had been discussing the future of Zeidan's cabinet after a no-confidence motion was tabled by 72 lawmakers.

Zeidan has been repeatedly criticized for his government's failure to tackle the instability that has plagued Libya since the ouster of strongman Moammar Gadafi in October 2011.

The embattled premier said on Tuesday he would resign if the GNC came to a consensus on a successor, warning of a power vacuum if he left his post without one.

Zeidan was himself briefly abducted by militia last year, highlighting the persistent lawlessness.