ID :
163796
Thu, 02/24/2011 - 15:10
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/163796
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea sends anti-piracy unit to Libya to help evacuate nationals
(ATTN: UPDATES; RECASTS lead; ADDS details, background)
SEOUL, Feb. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Thursday it has ordered its anti-piracy naval unit stationed in Somali waters to sail toward Libya in case its plan to evacuate its nationals out of the troubled African country goes awry.
The dispatch of the 4,500-ton destroyer Choi Young comes as anti-government protests intensify in Libya where leader Moammar Gadhafi is reportedly mobilizing armed units to strike those who oppose him.
About 1,400 South Koreans were in Libya -- about 1,050 of them in and around Tripoli and some 340 others in and around the eastern port city of Benghazi, according to the foreign ministry here.
"The Choi Young left from the Gulf of Aden for Libya on Thursday afternoon (Korean time)," a defense ministry official said, expecting the warship to approach Libya in early March.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the destroyer, which carries about 300 troops and is capable of accommodating 100 more, is being sent as part of a backup plan.
Earlier in the day, a foreign ministry official here said Seoul has chartered a flight to bring hundreds of South Korean nationals out of Libya as a growing number of them seek to flee the unrest.
South Korea is advising those near Benghazi to move to nearby Egypt by land or by ship because it is too dangerous to travel from Benghazi to Tripoli by air, the official said.
About 50 South Koreans in the Benghazi region are scheduled to travel out of Libya aboard a Turkish ship, the foreign ministry official said.
Earlier Thursday, President Lee Myung-bak ordered the government to ensure the safety of South Koreans in Libya.
"(The government) should use every possible means to protect our people and workers at companies operating there," Lee said at an emergency meeting with his economic and diplomatic teams, according to his spokeswoman, Kim Hee-jung.
SEOUL, Feb. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Thursday it has ordered its anti-piracy naval unit stationed in Somali waters to sail toward Libya in case its plan to evacuate its nationals out of the troubled African country goes awry.
The dispatch of the 4,500-ton destroyer Choi Young comes as anti-government protests intensify in Libya where leader Moammar Gadhafi is reportedly mobilizing armed units to strike those who oppose him.
About 1,400 South Koreans were in Libya -- about 1,050 of them in and around Tripoli and some 340 others in and around the eastern port city of Benghazi, according to the foreign ministry here.
"The Choi Young left from the Gulf of Aden for Libya on Thursday afternoon (Korean time)," a defense ministry official said, expecting the warship to approach Libya in early March.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the destroyer, which carries about 300 troops and is capable of accommodating 100 more, is being sent as part of a backup plan.
Earlier in the day, a foreign ministry official here said Seoul has chartered a flight to bring hundreds of South Korean nationals out of Libya as a growing number of them seek to flee the unrest.
South Korea is advising those near Benghazi to move to nearby Egypt by land or by ship because it is too dangerous to travel from Benghazi to Tripoli by air, the official said.
About 50 South Koreans in the Benghazi region are scheduled to travel out of Libya aboard a Turkish ship, the foreign ministry official said.
Earlier Thursday, President Lee Myung-bak ordered the government to ensure the safety of South Koreans in Libya.
"(The government) should use every possible means to protect our people and workers at companies operating there," Lee said at an emergency meeting with his economic and diplomatic teams, according to his spokeswoman, Kim Hee-jung.
