TRIPOLI, Libya (AFP) — Libya’s premier was ousted by Parliament yesterday after a tanker laden with crude oil from a rebel-held terminal broke through a naval blockade and escaped to sea, underscoring the weakness of the central government.

A no-confidence motion was approved by 124 of the 194 members of the General National Congress (GNC), four more than the majority required, MPs said.

The ousted prime minister, Ali Zeidan, was temporarily replaced by Defence Minister Abdullah al-Thani, who was sworn in as caretaker premier until a permanent replacement can be chosen within two weeks, a GNC statement said.

Libya’s top prosecutor late yesterday slapped a travel ban on Zeidan because of his suspected involvement in the embezzlement of public funds, according to a document published on his office’s Facebook page.

But Libyan media reported that Zeidan had already left the country.

Zeidan, an independent who had been supported by liberals, proved incapable of bringing to heel former rebel militia that carved out their own fiefdoms after the 2011 uprising that ended Moammar Gadhafi’s four-decade rule.

The beleaguered prime minister was even briefly abducted by former rebel militia in the heart of the capital last October.

Earlier yesterday, in a final humiliation for Zeidan, a North Korean-flagged tanker that had taken oil from a rebel-held terminal in the east slipped by naval vessels deployed to intercept it.