Libya

A Greek frigate carrying 186 people evacuated from conflict-ridden Libya is expected to reach the port of Piraeus early Saturday, the Greek Defense Ministry said.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia have urged their citizens based currently in Libya to leave, saying embassies there cannot guarantee their safety due to the increased violence.

Greece safely evacuated embassy staff and more than one hundred Chinese and European nationals from Libya early on Friday with a navy frigate sailing back to the Greek port of Piraeus, its Defense Ministry said.

Athens had sent a frigate and two other vessels to Libya to evacuate workers at its embassy in Tripoli on Thursday.

With the violence in Libya escalating to its worst level since the 2011 ouster of dictator Moammar Gadhafi, governments from around the world are scrambling to evacuate their citizens from the country, many seeking help from nearby Greece.

Greece dispatched a navy frigate to Tripoli on Wednesday after the Foreign Ministry decided to evacuate all personnel from its embassy in the Libyan capital as fighting between rival militias escalated.

Islamist groups seized the headquarters of the Libyan army's special forces in Libya's second city Benghazi after days of fighting, as a huge blaze raged at a fuel depot near the capital's airport.

An Islamist and jihadist alliance announced the capture July 29 of the main military base in the eastern city in a statement which was confirmed by an army official.

Bulgaria has evacuated all staff from its embassy in Tripoli due to the continued deterioration of the security situation in Libya.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry in Sofia said on Tuesday that Bulgarian citizens in Libya who might need urgent assistance could contact the EU delegation in Tripoli as well as the diplomatic missions of Malta, France, Hungary, Italy and Romania.

France was evacuating its nationals from Libya on Tuesday amid increasing lawlessness and unrest, a government source said, after similar moves by other European nations.
      
There are less than 100 French nationals in Libya and they will be taken out of the country by ship, the source said, adding that the operation would be over by the afternoon.
      

Serbian citizens advised to leave Libya immediately

BELGRADE -- The Serbian Foreign Ministry advises all Serbian citizens to leave Libya immediately, and refrain from traveling there, FM Ivica Dačić said on Tuesday.

The advisory was made in view of the escalating armed conflicts in Libya and the extremely volatile security situation in Tripoli.

Bulgaria on Monday warned its citizens against all travel to Libya due to escalating tensions in the North African country.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry in Sofia also strongly recommended Bulgarians currently in Libya to leave immediately.