prev
next
Westerners warned to leave Benghazi immediately in response to "imminent threat"
A Libyan policeman secures the area following an explosion that killed police Sgt. Salah Miftah Wizry Jan. 15, 2013, in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. / AFP/Getty Images
LONDON Britain, Germany and the Netherlands urged their citizens Thursday to immediately leave the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi in response to what was described as an imminent threat against Westerners.
The warnings come a day after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton testified to Congress about the deadly September attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that killed four Americans, including the ambassador to Libya. They also come as French troops battle al Qaeda linked militants in Mali, and follow the deaths of dozens of foreigners at the hands of Islamist extremists in Algeria — though it remained unclear if those two events were linked to the European nations' concerns about Libya.
Hillary Clinton tears up talking about Benghazi victims
The foreign ministries of the three countries issued statements variously describing the threat as specific and imminent but none gave details as to its exact nature. Germany and Britain urged their nationals still in Benghazi to leave "immediately" while Dutch Foreign Ministry spokesman Thijs van Son said that "staying in this area is not to be advised."
It was not immediately clear how many people could be affected; Britain's Foreign Office said likely "dozens" of its citizens were in the city, while Dutch Foreign Ministry spokesman Thijs van Son said there are four Dutch citizens registered as being in Benghazi and possibly two more. Several countries have for months advised against all travel to the city, especially after the U.S. consulate was attacked, and local residents said that many foreigners had already left in recent weeks.
Benghazi, a city of 1 million people, is a business hub where many major firms employ Westerners. It also was where the Libyan uprising against longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi began in 2011. Qaddafi was eventually toppled and killed after NATO backed the rebel movement, and the Arab country has since struggled with security. Al Qaeda-linked militants operate in the country alongside other Islamist groups.
Adel Mansouri, principal of the International School of Benghazi, said British and foreign nationals were warned two days ago about a possible threat to Westerners.
He said the school's teachers were given the option of leaving but decided to stay. The school has some 540 students. Most are Libyan with some 40 percent who hold dual nationality. Less than 5 percent are British while 10 to 15 students have U.S.-Libyan nationality, Mansouri said. Classes were not due to resume until Sunday because of a holiday Thursday.
"We told the British ambassador we are staying, and we'll be in touch," said Mansouri, himself a Libyan-British dual national. "We don't see a threat on the ground."
Saleh Gawdat, a Benghazi lawmaker, said French doctors who were working in Benghazi hospitals have left the city and that the French cultural center has closed out of concerns about potential retaliation over the French-led military intervention in nearby Mali, which began two weeks ago.
Violence in Benghazi has targeted both foreigners as well as Libyan officials in recent months — with assassinations, bombings and other attacks.
U.S. consulate attack in Libya
In addition to the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate, an Italian diplomat's car was fired on by militants in Benghazi. The consul, Guido De Sanctis, wasn't injured in the attack earlier this month, but the incident prompted Italy to order the temporary suspension of its consular activities in the city and send its foreign staff home.
Islamist extremists are often blamed for targeting security officials who worked under Qaddafi, as a kind of revenge for torturing or imprisoning them in the past. Many city residents also blame Qaddafi loyalists who they say are trying to undermine Libya's new leaders by sowing violence.
Ibrahim Sahd, a Benghazi-based lawmaker and politician, said that the new government is putting together a plan to beef up security in the city and this "might have worried the Westerners of a backlash."
Noman Benotman, a former Libyan jihadist with links to al Qaeda who is now an analyst at London's Quilliam Foundation, said other groups inspired by the terror network have been gaining a following since Qaddafi's fall. There have been nearly a dozen attacks against Western targets in Libya recently, he said.
"It's the same al Qaeda ideology that is driving these militants," Benotman said.
He added, however, that the militants were unlikely to target oil or gas installations in Libya because they need support from the population. "Targeting these installations would turn Libyan workers and tribes against them," he said.
Oil companies working in other parts of Libya said they were aware of government warnings to citizens but there were no immediate plans for evacuations.
An expert on the North African region told CBS Radio News this week that the security situation hasn't improved in Libya since the deadly Benghazi attack.
- Libya's security not better since Benghazi attack, expert says
- Hillary Clinton: "I do feel responsible" for Benghazi
"The problem with Libya is that there were no boots on the ground after the revolution, and the Libyan army and Libyan police basically evaporated," said William Lawrence, director of the North Africa Project at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. "Basically in Libya, you've got 1,700 militias running the country still and not much of the police or army infrastructure."
Lawrence said the Libyan government isn't effectively finding solutions to build up the national army and the police force after the death of Qaddafi.
"The new infrastructures needed to make Libya more secure, it just hasn't happened yet," said Lawrence. "One of the reasons is that all of these militias were formed to defend local neighborhoods, local villages, local towns, and what the government's asking them to do is to quit these militias and join the police force or join the army."
Popular on CBSNews.com
- Iran hangs alleged U.S., Israeli spies
- Photos of the Week 21 Photos
- S. Korea: N. Korea launches short-range missiles
- Assad: Syria transition talks are internal matter
- Plane catches fire landing in Moscow
- Plane catches fire on Moscow runway Play Video
- Drone technology myths, facts and future feats
- Russia strikes back after expelling alleged U.S. spy
Most Popular
-
01
-
02
-
03
-
04
-
05
Most Shared
Most Discussed
Is anyone besides me getting the feeling that was a load of crap? Throw in Mali and Algeria and that the weapons in those uprisings were brought in from Libya, and it sounds like al qaeda is running right towards us.
And when is CBS going to report on the 3,000 troops that were sent back into iraq, and the US troops that have been sent to 35 African countries, and the F-16's and tanks that we are giving to the muslim brotherhood in egypt? You'd think after the john dickerson brouhaha they'd report some of those newsworthy stories.
Al Qada Libya told Citizens of the West that they would be subject to execution. Al Qada opposes ARAMCO and American Interests in the Middle East. They seek the elimination of all natural gas and oil drilling in the region for a pristine and natural climate.
--------------------------------------
duh
I imagine they are fairly pisssed that a lot of their officers have been "droned". Not that I care but it ain't our country, is it?
That's what happens when these dictators are toppled. The jihadists move in. First Saddam in Iraq, now Qadafi gone from Libya. It's a preview of what will happen in Syria. We may think Assad is the bad guy now, but we'll wish he was still there when Al-Qaeda wannabes take over.
-----------------------------------------
your concern is touching
these people will get what they want which also means they will get what they deserve. Does it make any difference if Assad's secret police are kidnapping and executing people or the jihadists are doing it?
I'll be ol Assad would be happy to see you show up in Syria to support him with your trusty AR.
Its a good thing most of you loudmouths who post in here aren't any more serious than a brief stink in the wind
linkicon reporticon emailicon
This would've never happened if they'd left Kaddafi in power. Obama didn't have a game plan just like he doesn't have a foreign policy but acted anyway. I'm telling you people Obama is inept as president. he's like a bad bug we need to get rid of now. We should impeach him for his lies.
--------------------------------------------
have no fear dimwit....if there were even any close to impeachable lies the single minded lunatics you voted for in the house would have brought them up by now. Just like Clinton there isn't anything anymore dangerous to national security than a bj.
Now what are we gonna do about your lies???
linkicon reporticon emailicon
I hope Obama has an endgame unlike Lybia. We could and probably will end up with a radical muslim regime like Egypt and what lybia's turning into.
---------------------------------------------
endgame?
what kind of endgame would you suggest? Something like Iraq where we spent a trillion dollars of that debt...a good portion to dick cheney's Halliburton. 5000 of our soldiers just so the Chinese get the oil contracts and the Iranians who will soon be taking over?
When you say "we could probably end up with" ....isn't ours in the first place.
and
btw
most of the folks in Libya dont want these terrorists either. Your combination of ignorance and arrogance is breathtaking
Foreign Office Minister David Lidington MP false Statement: "The terrorist risk in Benghazi and other parts of this region has been there for some time before Mali and Algeria crisis of last weekend... safety of British citizens is our top priority." This Inaccurate and ain't true. David Cameron's gut response at house of common to Algerian attack bore an echo of bush-era 'war on terror' tropes troubled me and I was expecting retaliation against British interest in North Africa. Cameron foolishly declared the war that ain't afford indeed right after getting Victoria Nuland's permission to go on offense.