http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/24/britons-leave-benghazi-libya-foreign-office
British officials cited “al-Qaeda” in their threats but provided no additional details. The US warning simply reiterated a previous one warning Americans to avoid Benghazi and the surrounding area.
Foreign Office: Britons should leave Benghazi immediately
Statement strongly urges departure from Libyan city in response to a 'specific and imminent threat to westerners'
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The Foreign Office has urged British nationals to leave Benghazi immediately. Hillary Clinton recently said that the Libyans had the 'willingness but not [the] capacity' to provide security for diplomats in the city. Photograph: Michael Reynolds/EPA
British nationals have been urged by the Foreign Office to leave the Libyan city of Benghazi immediately in response to a "specific and imminent threat to westerners". Germany's government issued a similar warning to its citizens on Thursday.
No details were given by the UK of the nature of the threat, likely to have been issued in response to intelligence information about the security situation. But security sources in Libya said an attack was expected on an oil or gas facility.
The warnings follow last week's hostage crisis in Algeria as well as the French intervention in Mali and underlines continuing international concern about the ability of the government in Tripoli to maintain security in the aftermath of the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi, which began in Benghazi nearly two years ago.
Tripoli was angered by the announcement. "Nothing justifies this reaction," protested Libya's deputy interior minister, Abdullah Massoud, who expressed "astonishment" at the UK statement.
But in a possible sign of impending trouble, the border crossing to Egyptwas closed to all but Egyptians two days ago in an apparent attempt to keep westerners out of eastern Libya. US drones have been deployed amid speculation about a possible attack by jihadists or possible action against them.
Benghazi was the scene last September of an assault on the US consulate in which the US ambassador to Libya was killed along with three other Americans. Last summer the British ambassador escaped unharmed when a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at his car.
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, told a congressional hearing on Wednesday that the Libyans had the "willingness but not [the] capacity" to provide security for diplomats in Benghazi. The attack was blamed on a jihadi-type group called Ansar al-Sharia, which is thought to have links across the Maghreb region.
David Cameron's national security adviser, Kim Darroch, was in Tripoli on Wednesday for talks with the prime minister, Ali Zidan and two other ministers on UK-Libyan security collaboration.
Since last September the Foreign Office has advised against all travel to Benghazi and all areas of Libya with the exception of Tripoli, Zuwara, Az-Zawiya, Al Khums, Zlitan and Misrata, and the coastal towns from Ras Lanuf to the Egyptian border.
Thursday's statement said: "We are now aware of a specific and imminent threat to westerners in Benghazi, and urge any British nationals who remain there against our advice to leave immediately. We have updated our travel advice to reflect this."
It added: "Following French military intervention in Mali, there is a possibility of retaliatory attacks targeting western interests in the region. We advise vigilance." The Netherlands said that it has discouraged "all travel and stays" in the Benghazi region but has not told its citizens to leave the area. Tension has been high in Benghazi since December, when a Libyan government operation which received support from a US military aircraft arrested a number of men suspected of assassinating the city's police chief.
Gun battles and attacks on police stations have continued sporadically.
Zidan said last week that he was considering imposing a nighttime curfew on the city.
In response to the Algerian attack, Libya's army chief of staff, Youssef Mangoush, has taken personal charge of security at Libya's oil and gas installations.
Adel Mansouri, principal of the International School of Benghazi, told the Associated Press that British and other foreign nationals were warned two days ago about a possible threat to westerners.
He said the teachers were given the option of leaving but decided to stay. Saleh Gawdat, a Benghazi lawmaker, said French doctors who were working in the city's hospitals have left and that the French cultural centre has closed amid fears of potential retaliation over the French-led military intervention in Mali.
British Airways said it would continue operating its three weekly flights between London's Heathrow airport and Tripoli.
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http://news.antiwar.com/2013/01/24/us-britain-warn-of-imminent-threats-in-eastern-libya/
US, Britain Warn of Imminent Threats in Eastern Libya
Threat of Attacks Centers on Benghazi
by Jason Ditz, January 24, 2013
The British Foreign Office issued a statement early today, quickly followed by a similar one from the US State Department, cautioning citizens to leave Benghazi, Libya in response to a “specific, imminent threat.”
British officials cited “al-Qaeda” in their threats but provided no additional details. The US warning simply reiterated a previous one warning Americans to avoid Benghazi and the surrounding area.
Libya’s Interior Ministry sought to downplay the threat, saying they had ratcheted up security and that things were well in hand. After last week’s Algeria siege, the Western-run oil fields around Benghazi must look like inviting targets for militants, however.
The INSI, a journalist safety watchdog, also claimed credible information about the possibility of oil-field attacks, hinting at a possible link to secessionist efforts ongoing in Benghazi, where Islamists seek to break off from the Tripoli-dominated government.
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http://www.libyaherald.com/2013/01/24/quit-benghazi-advice-is-overreaction/
“Quit Benghazi” advice is overreaction says government
Tripoli, 24 January 2013:
The Undersecretary at the Ministry of the Interior, Abdullah Massoud, has condemned the call by a number of European governments for their nationals to evacuate Benghazi as “an over-reaction”.
Massoud insisted that the security problems in the city did not warrant this response. He also said that the Libyan Foreign Office had not been told formally by the British government of a change in its travel advice issued today.
The Libyan news agency, LANA reported that Ministry of Interior had given them a statement asserting there was no justification for such calls. It stressed that the city was safe since the implementation of the security plan and the establishment of the police and the national army to enhance its security. The ministry went on to say that talk of risk to citizens and foreign nationals in Benghazi was unfounded. It pointed out that there had been no security breach in the city for the past four days.
There is clearly some government frustration at the warnings, which are seen to be damaging, since they raise concerns among other diplomatic missions and foreign companies.
The Interior Ministry confirmed that it had yet to receive any memorandum or position paper from the British Foreign Office, outlining the existence of a threat to its nationals in Benghazi. The ministry said it had contacted the British embassy in Tripoli and asked for an explanation but had not yet received a reply. It was suggested that if the UK believed in an imminent threat, it could have withdrawn its nationals quietly, “without causing any fuss and excitement.”
The apparent breakdown in communications between Tripoli and London is puzzling because Britain’s National Security Adviser, Kim Darroch was in Tripoli today on the second day of a visit. On Wednesday, he met Prime Minister Ali Zeidan for talks on security collaboration. He also met with First Deputy Prime Minister Sadiq Abdulkarim. The talks also focussed on security and how Britain could help Libya in the field. Today Darroch had a meeting with the head of the Supreme Security Committee, Mohammed Suisi.
The British embassy told the Libya Herald this evening: “We don’t feel it is an over-reaction. The safety and security of British nationals is our priority.” As yet, an official said, the British government had not received any official reaction from the Libyan government.
London is now warning against all but essential travel to Zuara, Zawiya, Tripoli, Khums, Zliten, Misrata and coastal towns from Ras Lanouf to the Egyptian border. For Benghazi the advice is against all travel to the city and to all other areas of Libya.
The embassy said the number of British nationals in Benghazi before today had been very small, but the spokesman declined to comment on specifics.
Asked if there might be difficulty for British and other Western nationals to leave the city, the spokesman said that while Air Malta had suspended flights temporarily, other carriers, including Turkish Air, Qatar, Jordan and Egyptair continue to fly into Benghazi on their normal schedules.
Germany and the Netherlands have also called for their citizens to leave Benghazi. The United States had strongly advised against all travel to Benghazi and all but essential travel to Tripoli in an advisory note published on 2 January.
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