British, Dutch Urge Citizens to Leave Libya’s Benghazi Over Threat
On Thursday, British and Dutch authorities urged their citizens o leave the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, citing a specific and imminent threat to Westerners days after a deadly attack by Islamist militants in neighboring Algeria. Britain’s Foreign Office declined to give details of the nature of the threat, but has warned in the past of the long reach of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, the North African wing of al-Qaida.
The Netherlands has also urged its citizens to leave Benghazi. Dutch Foreign Ministry spokesman Thijs van Son said here are four Dutch citizens registered as being in Benghazi, and possibly two more.
“We are now aware of a specific and imminent threat to Westerners in Benghazi, and urge any British nationals who remain there against our advice to leave immediately,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
Right now though few westerners are believed to be in Benghazi, which has experienced a wave of violence targeting foreign diplomats, military and police officers, including an attack in September that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans. Also, last week, Italy suspended activity at its Benghazi consulate and withdrew staff after a gun attack on its consul.
British Airways said it would continue operating flights to the Libyan capital Tripoli. The airline operates three flights a week between London’s Heathrow airport and Tripoli. Its next flight to Libya is scheduled for Sunday. Benghazi was the cradle of the 2011 revolution that toppled former dictator Moammar Gadhafi, and Libya has been awash with weapons since then, its shaky nascent institutions struggling to rein in armed groups.
Benghazi has been the center of a power struggle between various armed Islamist factions. U.S. intelligence officials say Islamist militants with ties to al-Qaida affiliates were most likely involved in the deadly Sept. 11 assault on the U.S. mission in the city, Libya’s second biggest. Even though Britain’s move is cautionary, it is unlikely to inspire confidence in a country keen to attract foreign cash and developers for its oil fields and other sectors after years of chronic under-investment and war.
Newsdesk International 
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