Indonesia Urges Its Citizens To Leave Libya

Jakarta, Jan 28 (Antara) - The Indonesian Embassy in Tripoli has urged Indonesians citizens to leave Libya following the deteriorating political situation in the Middle Eastern nation. The embassy will make arrangements pertaining to the evacuation process for Indonesians keen to leave Libya, the Indonesian ministry stated in a press statement here, Wednesday. The Indonesian government sympathized with the Libyan government and relatives of those who died in an attack by heavily armed gunmen on a luxury hotel in Tripoli on Tuesday, killing at least 11 people, including foreigners, before blowing themselves up with a grenade. The irresponsible attack could disturb the peace efforts and stability in Libya, revealed the Indonesian ministry. The ministry confirmed that no Indonesians became victims of the attack on the Corinthia Hotel, in which an American, a French, and three citizens of Tajikistan were killed. Currently, some 88 Indonesian nationals reside in Libya. The embassy has urged them to stay at home, stay away from danger-prone areas, and to venture out only when they have urgent work. According to the officials, the shooting erupted inside the five-star property, Corinthia Hotel and security forces evacuated the guests, including Tripoli's prime minister and an American delegation, after at least two gunmen stormed into the building's reception. It was one of the worst attacks targeting foreigners since the 2011 civil war that ousted Muammar Gaddafi and divided the oil-producing North African state into fiefdoms of rival armed groups with two national governments, both claiming legitimacy. On Tuesday, Khadrawi, the capital's security director, noted that the security forces had rescued the Tripoli government's premier, Omar al-Hassi, from the 22nd floor of the hotel, where he was staying, to safety. Four Americans were also rescued, he revealed. "The attackers were attempting to assassinate him," he noted. The Libyan branch of ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attacks and has released photographs of the two gunmen Abu Ibraheem Al-Tunsi and Abu Sulaiman Al-Sudani, who it said had carried out the attack.