Military dictatorship

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.

Libya: Missile hits Serbian ambassador's residence

TRIPOLI -- The residence of Oliver Potežica, Serbia's ambassador in Tripoli, Libya, was hit by a missile the daily Politika is reporting on Monday.

According to this source, nobody was injured.

A British embassy convoy in Tripoli came under fire on Sunday in an attempted carjacking but no-one was hurt, a spokesman for London's mission in Libya said.
      
"Early this morning a British embassy convoy was subject to an attempted carjacking. Shots were fired at our vehicles but they managed to drive on and leave the area," spokesman Bob Phillipson said.
      

At least 38 people, mostly soldiers, were killed in 24 hours of fierce fighting between the Libyan army and Islamists in the eastern city of Benghazi, officials said on July 27.
      

The United States evacuated its embassy in Libya on July 26, driving its staff under heavy military guard across the border to Tunisia because of escalating clashes between rival militias in Tripoli, the U.S. State Department said. 

Turkey has considered closing its embassy in Tripoli because of growing security concerns in the country, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said, adding that efforts to evacuate Turkish citizens in Libya were underway.

By Alexis Papachelas

Ongoing developments in the country’s broader neighborhood are creating new challenges as well as threats in terms of the country’s interests. While the Middle East is turning into a big black hole, no one can predict where the rapidly developing situation in Iraq, the dismantling of countries such as Syria and Libya, and tension in Palestine will lead to.

Islamist-led militiamen have stepped up their assault on Libya’s main airport, controlled by rival fighters, which the Health Ministry said July 21 had left at least 47 dead in a week.

The fighting, which erupted on July 13 and shut Tripoli international airport, also injured 120 people, according to figures for the week until July 19.