MOSCOW: Russia said on Thursday that it has evacuated its diplomats and members of their families from Libya, a day after a group of unknown gunmen attacked the Russian Embassy in the Libyan capital Tripoli.
The attack came in response to the death of a Libyan air force officer, who was allegedly killed by a Russian woman.
In a statement on Thursday, Aleksandr Lukashevich, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said that it decided to evacuate after Libya’s Foreign Minister Abdel Aziz told the Russian ambassador that Tripoli was unable to ensure the protection of the embassy and the security of Russian diplomats.
Lukashevich said that Libya’s Foreign Minister recommended that the diplomats and their families leave the compound.
The spokesman said that all the embassy staff members and their families safely crossed the border into Tunisia on Thursday, adding that they will be flown from Tunis by a specially chartered jet to Moscow on Friday.
