Libya ‘No Fly Zone’ Affects Evacuation Of Ghanaians

Government says it is suspending the evacuation of its nationals in Libya by air, following the enforcement of the UN’s no fly zone resolution over Libya.

There have been series of strikes by the US, UK, and France, all targeted at Col. Gaddafi’s air defense and military strongholds in Tripoli. A deputy information minister, Baba Jamal told Citi News, current developments in Libya are making it difficult to fly stranded Ghanaians back home.

According to him, “this means that we can’t fly directly from Libya, so we have to be flying from Cairo and Tunisia mainly and other places”. He said government is exploring other alternatives to air transport to ensure that all Ghanaians are repatriated.

Over 16,000 Ghanaians have been evacuated so far, exceeding the original estimate of 10,000. “We can confidently say that majority of our people are out of that place,” Baba Jamal added.

Meanwhile, government says its mission in Libya is safe for now and has no immediate plans to order its evacuation. As the US, UK and France continue to bomb Col. Gaddafi’s military defences in Tripoli, there are growing concerns over the safety of various foreign missions in Libya.

No country has so far announced the closure of its mission in Libya. Deputy Information Minister Baba Jamal told Citi News, “according to international standards, the mission would be the last to evacuate if it becomes necessary, so they are still there doing their best to organize the people and assist us to mobilize the people to bring them home”.