Plan to facilitate return of 4,500 nationals from strife-torn libya
A day after the Indian Government advised its nationals in libya to leave the violence-hit country, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj held a meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday to expedite their evacuation.
With violence gripping libya faster, the Government has speeded up the rescue operations and arrangements are being put in place for the return of about 4,500 Indian nationals, including 750 nurses. The minister has directed the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to rush additional staff to libyan capital Tripoli and the Indian mission in neighbouring Tunisia to facilitate return of Indians.
With Tripoli airport blocked, several Indians have already started returning via land route through Tunisia. libya’s other air bases - Mitigais and Misurata (200 km from Tripoli) — are operational but with limited flights. Similarly, Banina airport in Benghazi also remains closed but labrak airport (300 km from Benghazi) is operational even though most of the international airlines have suspended their flights to libya.
However, Al-Afriqiya and the libyan airlines are operating for local and a few international destinations.
Swaraj, during the meeting to review the security situation impacting on Indian nationals in libya, asked the ministry officials to use the Indian Community Welfare Fund to facilitate travel related expenses of Indians who cannot afford tickets at the moment.
Officials in libya are advising Indians to return while the roads are still open using exit checkpoints on libyan-Tunisian (Ras Jedir/Benghardan) and libyan-Egyptian (Emsaeed/Salloum) borders. They are encouraged to move in groups.
The MEA spokesperson said the Indian mission in libya is working with libyan authorities to obtain exit permissions for Indians wanting to return.
The Indian Mission in Tripoli is in touch with the 4,500 Indians, who are registered with the embassy, through 62 coordinators to facilitate their return.
However, this number can be more. About 80 Indians, including some nurses, have agreed to return in the first batch.
Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandi and Andhra Pradesh leaders have urged the Centre to arrange special flights to bring back Indian nurses working in hospitals in libya.
A large number of Indian nurses are working in Tripoli and Benghazi and the MEA is trying to transport them to Tunisia by arranging visa on arrival in that country. According to reports, many nurses are yet to get their salaries for the last few months.
libya is facing intense fighting between rival militias since the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi in a bloody revolution three years back. India had evacuated roughly 18,000 Indians at that time.
Meanwhile, 61 Indian nationals belonging to Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh arrived in Chennai via Mumbai from Iraq on Tuesday.