Nearly 300 Bangladeshis have been moved to safe places from parts of the Libyan capital of Tripoli and its outskirts, where armed conflicts have intensified.
“There are around 5,000 Bangladeshis in Tripoli and nearby areas. We have already evacuated around 300 people from conflict zones,” a foreign ministry official told Bangla Tribune on Wednesday (Apr 17).
Any casualties involving Bangladeshi citizens are yet to be reported, said the official before adding, “The embassy has opened a hotline and providing all kind of supports for citizens.”
Responding a query on the situation in Benghazi, the official said, “Bangladeshi citizens there are safe as the fighting is now in Tripoli and its outskirts.”
Commander Khalifa Haftar and his eastern Libyan forces have cast their advance as part of a campaign to restore order and defeat jihadists in nation gripped by anarchy since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.
But the internationally-recognised Tripoli government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj - which has kept him at bay in the southern suburbs - views the 75-year-old general as a dangerous would-be dictator in the Gaffafi mould.
The United Nations says thousands of civilians are trapped in southern districts of Tripoli due to the fighting. Rescuers and aid workers are struggling to reach them and electricity, water supplies and telecommunications have been badly disrupted.
Dhaka says it’s closely monitoring the situation. “We will repatriate Bangladeshi, if the situation deteriorates,” said the foreign ministry official.
The government with the help of international agencies repatriated about 40,000 Bangladeshis from the North African country in 2011 when the conflict between Gaddafi and his opposition broke out.