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By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 17 July 2014:
The Maltese Foreign Ministry announced this morning that it has set up help lines for . . .[restrict]Maltese citizens should any become trapped in Libya and need the government’s help.
It was reported by the Times of Malta that foreign Minister George Vella hjad said that he did not wish to stir up panic but that a crisis centre had been set up to keep contact with Maltese inside Libya.
He added that although the situation on the ground had deteriorated with Sunday’s shut-down of Tripoli airport, a meeting of EU heads of mission recommended that there was no immediate need to evacuate people.
He told the Times of Malta: “We have to tread a fine line because if Malta orders an evacuation it could easily create a snowball effect with other countries following suit.”
He insisted that he did not want to minimise the danger, but after receiving information from Maltese residents and others from within Libya, his ministry did not believe the situation to be as dramatic as appeared from outside.
Nevertheless, the situation remained tense and uncertain, he added. Malta’s Foreign Ministry would continue to keep a close eye on the situation as it evolved.
The Maltese have given an emergency contact information. It is http://www.foreign.gov.mt/default.aspx?MDIS=21&NWID=5055 [/restrict]
