TRIPOLI: Two assailants were killed when protesters attacked Russia’s embassy in Tripoli, a minister said yesterday, while denying claims he had urged Russian diplomats to leave Libya after the attack.
“Two Libyans were killed in the attack” late on Wednesday, said Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdelaziz, adding that he had urged embassy staff not to spend the night in the compound for fear of a second attack.
Abdelaziz gave no further details on the deaths in the attack, which appeared to have been triggered by conflicting reports of a Libyan army officer killed by a Russian woman.
Moscow said yesterday it had evacuated its embassy staff from Libya after Abdelaziz told the Russian ambassador that Tripoli was unable to guarantee the safety of staff and that they should be pulled out.
“This is not true. We cannot make such a recommendation,” said Abdelaziz, adding that he had asked the Russian ambassador to leave the embassy and spend the night in a hotel or a similar place.
“After a lengthy discussion, the ambassador received orders (from Moscow) not to leave the embassy and to leave the country in the morning, so we facilitated their departure,” said the Libyan minister.
Dozens of protesters had attempted to storm the Russian embassy on Wednesday night, setting alight a vehicle and causing some damage to the mission’s entrance gate.
The incident came two days after conflicting reports emerged about the murder of a Libyan army officer in the Souk Juma district of Tripoli.
Some sources said a Russian woman killed the officer for his role in the 2011 revolt against the regime of late dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Others said the woman was the wife of the slain man and that the motive for the killing was a marital dispute.
AFP
