A ferry from Italy arrived at the Libyan port of Ras Lanuf to evacuate Russians and foreigners working for Russian companies in Libya amid escalating violence in the country, Russia's Emergencies Ministry reported on Sunday.
The Saint Stefan-2 ferry, which has a capacity of 1,000 people, left the Italian port of Bari for the Libya port of Ras Lanuf on Friday. The vessel is expected to take 842 people on board, including 123 Russians.
The Russian Emergencies Ministry is also considering a possibility to evacuate Russians via the Libyan port of Surt. "The ministry's aviation is ready to fly to Libya in case of necessity," a spokesman said.
Violent nationwide protests demanding the end of the 42-year rule of Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi are currently raging across Libya. National authorities clamped down on the protests. According to international organizations, between 600 and 1,000 people were killed and another 4,000 wounded in the clashes. Libyan authorities have pledged to continue to suppress the opposition.
Russia has previously evacuated the larger part of its citizens from the riot-hit North African country by planes. Besides Russian nationals evacuated from Libya over the last few days, Russia has also evacuated citizens of Serbia, Thailand, Uzbekistan and a dozen other countries.
MOSCOW, February 27 (RIA Novosti)
