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A US embassy flag inside the embassy in Tripoli on 12 September 2011 AP/Press Association Images

US shuts its embassy in Libya and evacuates staff amid violent clashes

A spokesperson said the decision to leave the embassy had not been taken lightly.

THE UNITED STATES has evacuated its embassy in Libya amid fierce clashes between militias in the area.

The US State Department said it has relocated all of its personnel to Tunisia for the time being.

In a statement, a spokesperson said that the decision to leave the embassy had not been taken lightly.

“Security has to come first,” said Maria Harf, a spokesperson for the US State Department.

“Regrettably, we had to take this step because the location of our embassy is in very close proximity to intense fighting and ongoing violence between armed Libyan factions.

She said that the US is “committed to supporting the Libyan people during this challenging time, and are currently exploring options for a permanent return to Tripoli as soon as the security situation on the ground improves”.

“In the interim, staff will operate from Washington and other posts in the region”.

Read: Special forces have captured the suspected ringleader behind the Benghazi attack > 

Opinion: American policy is moving ever further from European interests > 

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51 Comments
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    Mute Red Line
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    Dec 20th 2022, 8:08 PM

    The Greens will be struggling to survive after the madness they have put us through since they got into power.

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    Mute Ollie O'Cleirigh
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    Dec 20th 2022, 8:30 PM

    @Red Line: Can’t you not focus on the subject being discussed instead of taking potshots?

    Take your frustration out in the polling booths instead of ruining the comments thread. The destruction of nature threatens our very existence.

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    Mute Red Line
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    Dec 20th 2022, 8:47 PM

    @Ollie O’Cleirigh: The Greens are fake environmentalists. For example they approve of mass immigration, no matter of the impact on Ireland’s carbon footprint.

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    Mute Allora
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    Dec 20th 2022, 9:23 PM

    @Ollie O’Cleirigh: public discourse is far more important than voting even though both are important. The greens have set back the green agenda in Ireland for decades with lazy and incompetent political leaders and party members. They constantly commentate on our emissions and come up with no strategy as to how to mitigate them. Not one word from them on nuclear power and investment in our grid which cannot even connect new wind farms as its totally ineffective and at its capacity already. Then when asked about public they talk about hydrogen trains when electric trains would transform the islands public transport. Bicycle lanes painted on the side of roads and south facing window boxes. They are done. Get them out. Impoverishing the poor further particularly rurally will not help.

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Dec 20th 2022, 9:34 PM

    @Allora: 100%. There a bunch of amateur politicians that got lucky in the last election.

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    Mute Kevin Beattie
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    Dec 20th 2022, 8:24 PM

    Malcom why is your so called Green party destroying wildlife habitats ,biodiversity killing trees wasting millions of taxpayers money at Lough Funshinagh flood crisis causing the demolition and flooding of homes farmyards and villages in a National housing crisis !! By not allowing the lake return to its natural level!!! Is there a hidden agenda ?

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    Mute Rob Duggan
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    Dec 20th 2022, 8:37 PM

    Well said Malcolm. Green policies are becoming accepted in most governments and we need a brave voice.

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    Mute John Fitzgerald
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    Dec 21st 2022, 1:34 AM

    Just how committed is the government to preserving what’s left of our biodiversity? It allows coursing clubs to capture thousands of our native hares, supposedly a protected species, for the purpose of setting dogs on them. If that can happen to an iconic species that conservationists have dubbed the “Flagship of Irish biodiversity”, then how serious can our leaders be about saving our wildlife heritage? The image of a hare having its bones crushed or being tossed into the air by a coursing dog could aptly represent the attitude of this government to the wild creatures that share the island with us.

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