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Gaddafi digs in, Indians to fly out
As a defiant Muammar Gaddafi late on Tuesday vowed to stay on as Libya's leader, raising fears of more bloodshed, India has decided to evacuate its citizens from the African country. There are 18,000 Indians in Libya. In Benghazi, a stronghold of the opposition, some 3,000 Indians are trapped. HT reports.
As a defiant Muammar Gaddafi late on Tuesday vowed to stay on as Libya's leader, raising fears of more bloodshed, India has decided to evacuate its citizens from the African country.
The decision came on Tuesday after external affairs minister SM Krishna spoke to India’s envoy in Tripoli Mani Meklai. There are 18,000 Indians in Libya. In Benghazi, a stronghold of the opposition, some 3,000 Indians are trapped.
In the evening, foreign secretary Nirupama Rao meet senior officials to take stock of the situation.
“An in-principle call has been taken to bring back all those who want to be back. But the final plan, including the logistics, will be worked out in coordination with the ministry of civil aviation,” an official said on condition of anonymity. The government would first assess the number of people who want to come back.
The situation was being closely monitored and all Indians were safe, Krishna said earlier in the day.
The problem, however, is that India has no consular presence outside the capital Tripoli. Benghazi, too, doesn’t have an Indian consulate. Libya’s second largest city became the focal point of an anti-Gaddafi uprising launched on February 15 and has borne the brunt of a violent backlash by security forces.
The ministry clarified that Indian national Murugaiah was killed in a road accident, and not in the violent protests that have rocked the oil-rich nation. The car accident left two Indians injured. They along with three Egyptians were trying to cross into Egypt through the northeastern Libyan city of Tobruk on February 19. Murugaiah died of his injuries the next day.
