Dozens of Greek and foreign nationals evacuated from Libya; Greek embassy suspended

The ship sailed in the early hours of the morning for Greece where it is expected to dock on Saturday morning.

The Greek frigate "Salamis" reached off shore of Tripolis, Libya, on Thursday in preparation of evacuating Greek nationals and citizens of other countries following the escalating violence in the country.

Expected to be transferred on board were about 77 Greek nationals (including members of the Greek diplomatic mission), 12 Cypriots, 10 British, 78 Chinese, 7 Belgian, 1 Russian and 1 Albanian. The frigate will set sail as soon as they are all aboard.

According to the National Defense Ministry, the operation of the evacuation of Greek and foreign nationals from the port of Tripoli was completed successfully early this morning.

Meanwhile, the operation of the Greek Embassy in Tripoli, Libya, has been temporarily suspended due to the adverse security conditions prevailing in the region, the Foreign Ministry said.

International missions and member-states of the European Union and United Nations have also been moving their staff out of the country.

Associated Press reports that as the Greek operation was underway heavy fighting erupted around Tripoli airport after a brief truce that was meant to enable firefighters to tackle a blaze at a nearby fuel depot.