Ankara, February 25: At least one Turkish national has been confirmed dead amid the Libyan revolution as Turkey is rushing to evacuate all its nationals from Libya, Turkish foreign minister says.
Already 5,099 nationals have been brought back from Libya and that at least 20,000 others are still trapped there, Ahmet Davutoglu announced at a press conference on Wednesday.
Yunus Emre Celik, a 27-year-old Turkish crane operator, registered in Trabzon, has lost his life amidst the chaos of Libya’s uprising, but it is still not clear how he died, Davutoglu said.
Around 3,000 have returned to the country on two ships on Wednesday amidst the chaos of Libya’s uprising. Turkish airlines have also been helping in the evacuation. It is being conducted through the Tripoli International Airport, the only operational airport in Libya.
The mass departure is the largest in scale in the country’s history, he said.
Two commercial liners, the Samsun and the Ankara Istanbul, are to join the evacuation efforts very soon, he added.
Turkey has about 25,000 citizens and more than 200 companies involved in construction projects in Libya worth more than $15 billion. Some of the construction sites have come under attack by protesters.
Meanwhile, Turkish daily Today’s Zaman said on Thursday that the dead Turkish citizen was killed by a stray bullet during protests in Libya.
——–Agencies