Saif Gaddafi failed to appear in court in Tripoli

Libyan authorities are seeking clarification from a militia-run prison holding the son of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi as to why he missed a court hearing in the capital Tripoli.

Al-Seddik al-Sur of the state prosecutor's office told reporters on Thursday that authorities have asked for "justification" as to why Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was not transferred from the western town of Zintan to attend a pre-trial hearing in a case related to alleged crimes he committed during the country's 2011 civil war.

The failed prisoner transfer reflects the inability of the government to rein in militias in the absence of a strong national army or police.

Saif al-Islam, the most prominent figure in his father's defunct regime, did however make a brief appearance in a Zintan court for a separate trial.