William Hague: ''The safety of British nationals is of paramount concern''
Tuesday 22 February 2011
UK plans to charter Libya plane
The UK government is making plans to charter a plane to Libya to help stranded Britons return home, Foreign Secretary William Hague has said.
Mr Hague said a Royal Navy warship, HMS Cumberland, would also be moved to wait off the Libyan coast.
Talks are under way to fly a charter aircraft to Tripoli within 48 hours.
Rights groups say nearly 300 people have died in the violence there so far. Meanwhile, Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has refused to stand down.
In his first major speech since unrest began last week, Col Gaddafi said the whole world looked up to Libya, protesters were "cockroaches" or "rats" and their protests were "serving the devil".
Reading from the country's constitution, he said enemies of Libya would be executed and vowed to fight to his "last drop of blood" rather than leave the country he has ruled for 41 years.
At a news conference in Whitehall, Mr Hague said the "worsening" situation in Libya "remained highly unpredictable" and the safety of British nationals in Libya was of "paramount concern".
Most of the 3,500 Britons resident in Libya are thought to have already left, but Mr Hague said a "rapid deployment team" of Foreign Office specialists would be sent to the country to help those still there.
William Hague Foreign Secretary“The Libyan government is trying to stop the world seeing what is happening in Libya, but we will do everything we can to make sure they're held accountable for their actions”
"In light of the fluid and dangerous situation, we are urgently reinforcing our team on the ground with specialist personnel to provide help and assistance to British nationals," he said.
The foreign secretary said the UK was "urgently seeking landing clearances and permissions from the Libyan government" so that it could charter a plane.
He said British people were experiencing "significant difficulties" leaving Libya, and a number were stranded at Tripoli airport with no immediate flights out.
HMS Cumberland was also being redeployed from the eastern Mediterranean to international waters near Libya, he said, so that it would be in a position to "play a role in assisting British nationals".
Tens of thousands of foreigners are trying to leave the country by land and air and many oil companies are attempting to remove their expatriate staff.
One Briton, whose relatives are stuck in Tripoli, described chaotic scenes at the airport and said the UK government was doing nothing to help them.
The woman, who asked not to be named, told BBC News: "The Foreign Office has told everyone to leave Libya, however there are no flights available.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment