HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

At least 126 Nepalis have been evacuated from Libya to neighboring Tunisia with the help of the Embassy of India in Tripoli.

An official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that those Nepalis working at a South Korean company Dosan in Sirte were issued ‘out pass’ by the Indian mission in Tripoli, the capital city of Libya. Syed Akbaruddin, Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs of India, said on Twitter, “Good neighbourliness in action! India helps evacuation of 126 Nepali nations from strife-torn Libya to safety of Tunisia.”

According to Prakash Subedi, West Asia Division head at MoFA, 54 out of 126 Nepalis arrived in Kathmandu via Tunisia on Thursday and Friday. Rest are on the way home. Nepal has no physical diplomatic presence in Libya. The Embassy of Nepal in Egypt concurrently looks after Libya. The Egypt mission had earlier coordinated with the Indian Embassy in Tripoli so as to facilitate the evacuation of Nepali workers.

MoFA sources said that additional 80 Nepalis working in different parts of Libya are also in touch with Nepal’s Egypt mission and wish to return home. The government is doing efforts to evacuate them with the help of Indian Embassy and the International Organisation for Migration based in Tunisia. Nepal had rescued some 3,200 Nepali workers from Libya following the political upheaval in North Africa and Middle East in 2011.

Published on: 17 August 2014 | The Himalayan Times