Bulgaria Initiates Evacuation as Tensions in Libya Escalate

Foreign Affairs Minister, Nikolay Mladenov, says his institution is fully prepared to evacuate Bulgarians from Libya. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria has set in full motion an evacuation plan for the country's citizens who are currently in Libya, Foreign Affairs Minister, Nikolay Mladenov, informs.

Mladenov, who is in Brussels Monday to discuss with his EU counterparts the situation in Libya as tensions there escalate by the minute, spoke for the Bulgarian National Radio, BNR.

The Minister says his institution is on stand-by and fully prepared for an independent Bulgarian evacuation or for a joint one with another European country. He reiterated warnings Bulgarians should avoid all travel to Libya, and recommenced to those located in the eastern Libyan regions to not attempt to reach Tripoli since information who controls what areas is contradictory.

Mladenov informed the Bulgarian Embassy in Tripoli, the Ambassador's Residency and the housing base of the Technoexportstroy company are ready to accept Bulgarians in need of assistance or shelter, adding the evacuation of EU citizens is further hindered by the Libyan requirements to leave the country only with an exit visa.

Late Sunday, EU Ambassadors to Tripoli have placed a request with the Libyan Foreign Minister to speed up the process of issuing such visas and have been promised assistance.

There are about 500 Bulgarians in Libya with 60 of them in the Benghazi area, according to Mladenov.

Meanwhile, leading international agencies report the situation in Tripoli is becoming more and more serious with security forces abandoning the city or taking part in the looting of stores and banks.

Several government buildings, police precincts and the TV building have been rampaged or set on fire.

The Tripoli International Airport is also under siege by demonstrators, according to CNNTurk, which reports that a civilian aircraft of the Turkish airlines sent to evacuate Turkish citizens was unable to land and had to return back to Turkey.

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