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Türkiye successfully evacuated 82 of its citizens from Libya’s capital Tripoli following several days of intense and deadly clashes between armed factions, according to sources from the Turkish foreign ministry late Friday.
The ministry confirmed that these nationals, who wished to return home during the escalating conflict and insecurity in Libya, were assisted in their departure and safely returned to Türkiye.
The evacuation followed a previous announcement by the Turkish embassy, which stated it was organising a Turkish Airlines flight from the Libyan port city of Misrata to Istanbul. The embassy also arranged bus transportation from Tripoli to Misrata, located approximately 200 kilometres east of the capital.
Details about the evacuees were not disclosed, nor was it made clear if additional evacuation flights were planned.
The violence erupted last Monday in Tripoli between loyalist forces and powerful armed groups targeted for disbandment by the UN-backed government. The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) reported that at least eight civilians lost their lives during the clashes, which also severely disrupted air traffic.
Although calm briefly returned to Tripoli on Friday, the situation remained unstable and volatile.
Türkiye, a supporter of Libya’s UN-recognised government led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, called for an immediate truce earlier in the week and continues to closely monitor the developments.
Libya remains deeply fractured since the 2011 NATO-supported uprising that ended the rule and life of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi. The country is divided between Dbeibah’s administration in the west and a rival faction controlled by military strongman Khalifa Haftar in the east.
