ICRC EVACUATES 618 FOREIGN NATIONALS STRANDED IN LIBYA

KUALA LUMPUR, April 19 (Bernama) – The International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC) has evacuated 618 foreign nationals who were stranded in Libya for
several weeks.

The evacuation was carried out by sea from the city of Misrata, in western
Libya, the ICRC said in a statement datelined Benghazi/Geneva, posted on its
website.

"These people had been stranded in dire conditions for several weeks,
without proper shelter or sanitation. They had to cope with poor hygiene and
were exposed to danger owing to the fighting in the city," said Javier Cepero
Garcia, an ICRC delegate who is leading the evacuation mission.

The ICRC decided to help evacuate the foreign nationals after visiting
Misrata for the first time last week.

"The evacuation operation carried out was challenging because of the
difficult security conditions in the port area," Cepero said.


An ICRC-chartered vessel sailed from Malta to pick up the civilians in
Misrata and took them to Egypt via Tobruk, in eastern Libya.

The operation is being coordinated with the International Organisation for
Migration, which will organise the transfer of the evacuees to their respective
countries.

The Geneva-based ICRC said that most of those evacuated were Sudanese,
Chadian, Egyptian and Moroccan nationals. Women and children were among those
who boarded the ICRC ship.

Cepero said the ICRC was concerned with the situation of thousands of
people in Misrata and had decided to send in another ship with medical supplies,
hygiene kits, food items and 8,000 litres of drinking water that should arrive
in Misrata Wednesday.

He said the ICRC and Libyan Red Crescent personnel would be on board the
ship to deliver medical supplies to Al Hikma Hospital and the Libyan Red
Crescent hospital, visit detainees and assess water supply systems and weapon
contamination in the area.

The ICRC, established in 1863, works worldwide to provide humanitarian help
for people affected by conflicts and armed violence and to promote the laws that
protect victims of war.