Fighter belonging to the terrorist group Ansar al-Sharia clash with police and Libyan army special forces in Tripoli near the US embassy. Pictured here:Heavily armed fighters of Ansar al Sharia in running gun battle with police in Tripoli.
On July 26, 2014 the Pentagon press secretary Rear Admiral. John Kirby issued the following statement concerning the “relocation” (evacuation) of the US Embassy in Tripoli, Libya:
“At the request of the Department of State, the U.S. military assisted in the relocation of personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Libya on Saturday, July 26.
All embassy personnel were relocated, including the Marine security guards who were providing security at the embassy and during the movement.
The embassy staff was driven in vehicles to Tunisia.
During movement, F-16’s, ISR assets and an Airborne Response Force with MV-22 Ospreys provided security.
The mission was conducted without incident, and the entire operation lasted approximately five hours.
For further information, please contact the U.S. Africa Command public affairs office at: (+49) 0711 729-5984 or email at africom-pao-media@mail.mil.”
Source: DoD http://www.defense.gov/Releases/Release.aspx?ReleaseID=16848
Note: The evacuation was because of in-fighting between warring militias in Libya which reached the capital. The fighting has killed dozens of people, according to various Facebook posting.
The State Department said earlier that the embassy move was “temporary.”
“Due to the continuing violence resulting from clashes between Libyan militias in the immediate vicinity of the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, we have temporarily relocated all of our personnel out of Libya,” said Marie Harf, a State Department spokeswoman, adding the evacuation “was not prompted by a specific threat.”
Secretary of State John Kerry stressed that U.S. embassy operations in Tripoli had only been suspended due to the “freewheeling militia violence” in the Libyan capital. “We will return the moment the security situation permits us to do so,” Kerry said.
The Associated Press reported: “The withdrawal underscored the Obama administration’s concern about the heightened risk to American diplomats abroad, particularly in Libya where memories of the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. mission in the eastern city of Benghazi are still vivid and the political uproar over it remain fresh ahead of a new congressional investigation into the incident.”
On Monday, the United Nations said it was evacuating its remaining staff from Libya because of the deteriorating security situation.
“The security situation is worsening in Libya and the entire country is on the verge of total collapse”, said one source in Tripoli via email on Saturday July 26, 2014.