Plans under way to ensure Indians' safety in Libya

India concerned about 3000 of its citizens in Benghazi

February 22, 2011 02:21 am | Updated October 10, 2016 08:53 am IST - NEW DELHI:

As Libya hurtled into further violence, India has worked out contingency plans to ensure the safety of its nationals especially in Benghazi. With no consular presence outside Tripoli, India is contacting other countries, especially from the European Union, whose citizens are trapped in cities where fighting is rampant.

India is more concerned about its 3,000 citizens in Benghazi where it has no consular presence. Adding to the worry is the sizeable contingent of nurses, who had spent almost a week cooped up in a hotel while gunshots rang round the city. Evacuation plans would include the option of moving them by sea or to Egypt. Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao tweeted that two meetings were held during the day on contingency planning and was hoping “things to take shape in next few days.”

“We have no consular presence in Benghazi. We are working on contingency plans, rest assured. City is on coast and also close to Egypt border,” she tweeted, adding that contingency planning experience from Kuwait (1991) and Lebanon (2006) was being put to use.

The government was augmenting its staff in Tripoli mission including an Arabic interpreter being sent from Delhi. The Foreign Office was talking to other Ministries and coordinating closely with Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs.

Earlier in the day, the Foreign Office began running a round-the-clock ‘Situation Room' to facilitate members of the Indian community. In her daytime tweet Ms. Rao expressed “deep concern” over the situation in Libya and assured that the government was monitoring the situation in the country. But the government had not taken any decision on whether to evacuate the Indians living there.

“We are concerned about the developments in Libya...The situation in Benghazi is of particular concern to us because we have a number of Indian citizens there. Our Embassy in Tripoli is in touch with these people. We have been monitoring the situation,” she said.

Meanwhile, the 200 Indian nurses in a Benghazi hotel would be moving to a safer location, said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vishnu Prakash.

The Libyan Embassy is in touch with the nurses, some of whom have been shifted to the Bengazi Medical Centre from a hotel where they had been cooped up amid the strife all around for the past one week. All the nurses are reported to be women and a majority of them from Kerala.

The government plans to set up a committee to monitor the situation in Libya and prepare plans to meet any eventuality. “The committee would comprise Foreign Secretary and Overseas Indian Affairs Secretary among others. This committee would be planning to meet any eventuality,” said Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi.

Mr. Ravi said he was in touch with External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and Defence Minister A.K. Antony.

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