The Pakistani community in Libya has been urged to stay away from conflict areas, as fighting continues in the country’s capital, a press release from Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal said on Sunday.
Community members have also been asked by the Pakistani Embassy in Libya to “register themselves” for “further coordination”, the statement added. In accordance with the “policy to ensure security and safety of its citizens”, families of the embassy staff had been recalled to Pakistan, it said, and added that the Pakistani government was monitoring the situation in Libya.
The spokesperson said a crisis management cell and a help desk were functioning in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad and Embassy of Pakistan in Tripoli, respectively, for assistance and information.
Weeks of fighting in the suburbs of Libya’s capital Tripoli killed at least 264 people and injured more than 1,200, according to the World Health Organisation. So far, at least 35,000 people have been displaced due to the fighting, United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Libya Maria do Valle Ribeiro said last week.
Eastern-based strongman Khalifa Haftar had launched an offensive on the capital on April 4, as his self-styled Libyan National Army pledged “to purge the west of terrorists and mercenaries”.
Forces loyal to the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), based in Tripoli, launched a counterattack last weekend. The fighting has since eased somewhat, as both sides appeared to be preparing for the next phase of the battle.
