Updated | Malta, Libya prime ministers hold brief meeting

Updated at 11am

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat held a brief meeting with Libya's Prime Minister Ali Zeidan while the latter landed unexpectedly in Malta last night.

In a statement, the Office of the Prime Minister said Zeidan was forced to land in Malta because his private jet developed a "technical fault".

MaltaToday is informed that no emergency landing took place.

Zeidan was welcomed at the airport by Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella. Early this morning, the Libyan PM met Muscat before he continued on his way to Libya.

Separate reports in the media claim that Zeidan was forced to land on the island due to security issues at Tripoli's airport.

Zeidan, who was on his way to his home country from Zurich, left the island on Friday morning.

The Libyan Prime Minister's landing comes as unidentified gunmen tried to storm into the Libyan army command headquarters in Tripoli, clashing with soldiers there before stealing a few rifles and some vehicles, the army and a military source told Reuters,

The details of the incident were not clear and there were no immediate reports of any casualties at the army chief of staff headquarters in the south of Tripoli.

"We clashed with them when they tried to enter, but they left," said Ali al-Sheikhi, an army spokesman.

One army source at the base said the clash occurred at the gate of the command building and gunmen stole a few Kalashnikov rifles and at least four cars.

Another senior army officer, who asked not to be identified, said he believed it was a dispute between guards at the military base.

On Twitter, several users have tweeted that, ahead of 7 February, tensions in Tripoli were on the rise. Others have reported that clashes erupted in Tripoli after an "unknown group" tried to kidnap the Secretary General of the National Forces Coalition (NFC).

February 7 marks the day Libya retired its transitional government to make way for a permanent one. According to international media, protests are planned in central Tripoli tomorrow against a decision by the General National Congress (GNC) to extend its mandate until September 2015.

Opponents of the extension include several civil society groups, prominent members of the former ruling Transitional National Council (TNC), and elements of the National Forces Alliance (NFA), the largest congressional party. They argue that 7 February marks the legitimate conclusion of the GNC's term in office, and have called for elections to be held for a new congress.

Western Libya's two most powerful armed groups, the Misratah Military Council and the Zintan Brigade, have taken opposing sides in the dispute.