“I can confirm that two RAF C-130 Hercules aircraft have evacuated more than 150 civilians from desert locations south of Benghazi,’’ Fox said.
He added that the frigate HMS Cumberland was returning to Benghazi from Malta to evacuate any remaining “entitled persons’’ from there.
Mediterranean ports overflowed with thousands of evacuees from Libya, and thousands more foreigners were scrambling to flee the North African nation by sea, air, or land as the security situation around the capital, Tripoli, deteriorated.
More than 2,800 Chinese workers landed in Heraklion on the Greek island of Crete aboard a Greek ship.
Further to the west, another 2,200 Chinese arrived in Valletta, the capital of Malta, after a long journey from the eastern Libyan port of Benghazi.
Hours earlier, in the dark of night, a US-chartered ferry dropped off more than 300 passengers in Valletta who spent three days waiting to leave Libya’s chaotic capital.
The sheer numbers of foreigners leaving Libya as Khadafy’s regime attacks antigovernment protesters has been staggering.
As of yesterday, at least 16,000 Chinese, 15,000 Turks, and 1,400 Italians had been evacuated, most working in the construction and oil industries.
In addition, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council that some 22,000 people have fled across the Libyan border to Tunisia and another 15,000 crossed the border into Egypt.
“There are widespread reports of refugees being harassed and threatened with guns and knives,’’ Ban said, adding that many who managed to cross the border said their trips were “terrifying.’’
Americans living in Libya were told as early as Feb. 20 to depart and were given help leaving the country, a State Department spokesman said yesterday.
“We are unaware of large pockets of Americans who wished to evacuate but did not. However, we are aware that there may be Americans still in Libya that may need assistance departing,’’ said Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Philip J. Crowley.
