Britain Carries Out Second Evacuation from Libya
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - British Royal Navy ship the HMS Enterprise arrived in Malta on Wednesday carrying 93 people evacuated from strife-torn Libya, its second such mission this week, British officials said.
The ship, which had been carrying out routine survey work in the Mediterranean Sea, left Tripoli on Tuesday and arrived in Malta early Wednesday, where passengers were met by staff from the British High Commission in the capital Valletta.
It was the second "assisted departure" carried out by the British government amid the deteriorating security situation, AFP reported.
Since mid-July, Libya has seen deadly clashes between rival militias in Tripoli and in the eastern city of Benghazi.
Tripoli airport has been closed since gunmen attacked it on July 13 in a bid to wrest control from the Zintan brigade of former rebels who have held it since the 2011 revolt.
A total of 110 British and other European nationals, including pregnant women and babies, arrived in Malta on Monday after being evacuated by HMS Enterprise.
Britain has temporarily suspended its embassy operations in the troubled north African country, the Foreign Office said.
