Balkan Citizens Urged to Get Out of Libya

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.

Those still in Libya are being advised to leave the country through the border with Tunisia, where diplomatic staff will arrange transport from Tunis airport. Those caught up in the fighting in Benghazi are being to evacuate via Egypt.

Bosnia says around 200 of its citizens remain in the country. According to the Bosnian foreign ministry, some embassy staff will also evacuate, while some will stay behind.

Macedonia also called for the immediate evacuation of its citizens from Libya and urged all who plan to go there to postpone their travels.

“We are guessing that there are Macedonian citizens in Libya who work there for foreign companies but we don’t know the exact number,” the Foreign Ministry, Nikola Poposki, told Alfa TV.

Most Croatian citizens were already evacuated from Libya last week, but the foreign ministry said around 100 still remain. Croatia also plans to withdraw its diplomatic staff in the coming days.

A similar number of Serbian citizens also remains in the country, most of them in construction and medicine. They are also being advised to urgently leave Libya.

“The situation is calming down, but there are still serious safety threats,” Gradimir Gadjic, from the Serbian embassy in Tripoli, said.

The recent escalation in the violence in Libya risks derailing the country’s fragile transition even further. Violence increased as rival militias battled around Tripoli Airport in recent weeks, which reports said left numerous dead as well as dozens injured.

Many Western governments ...