AMERICANS, TURKS FLEEING LIBYA
Another grotesque Obama moment.
Every day the news is worse (for proud Americans). Obama is this recurring nightmare that Americans cannot wake from. Despite Obama's strange friendship with Qaddafi, Americans were the last to escape the nightmare in Libya in a rickety "ferry." Worse, it sat for three days waiting to depart, while other nations whisked their people out.
Obama's America.
In the UK, PM David Cameron took control of the evacuation of British nationals from Libya and sent the navy frigate, the HMS Cumberland, to rescue Brit nationals, in addition to upwards of six special flights.
Germany has sent three warships with 600 soldiers on board to the sea area between Malta and Libya, reports the German magazineSpiegel.
China dispatched a navy ship to support the evacuation of its citizens.
The Italian military ship San Giorgio left the Libyan coast Friday with about 245 people, half of them Italians, said the ship's captain Enrico Giurelli. More than 1,000 Italians have been airlifted and shipped back from Libya over the last two days, and Italy hopes to bring back a further 200 Friday, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Friday, according to ANSA news agency. Italy has two ships off Misrata to evacuate 150 Italians, although heavy seas are reported to be hampering the ships' entry to port.
Canada sent a C-17 military transport plane.
About 210 Greeks returned home on Friday on three military transport planes from Tripoli, Sirte and Sebha, according to Athens News.
About 10,000 Turkish citizens have been evacuated so far, President Abdullah Gul said on Friday during a visit to France, as reported by Turkish Press. Four Turkish military cargo planes brought more than 400 Turks home from Tripoli. A military ship with a capacity of 1,500 passengers was expected to set sail on Friday from Benghazi for Marmaris in south-west Turkey – making it the biggest evacuation in Turkey's history, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said today, reported Bloomberg.
The foreign ministry in Moscow says that 330 Russian citizens have been flown out of Tripoli and Sirte in recent days. The emergencies ministry says it is sending additional four aircraft to the two cities.
Most Brazilians in Tripoli have been evacuated by air, Brazil's foreign ministry has said. Those remaining are staying to watch over installations or provide support to fellow citizens, it said.
More on evacuations here.
Instead
After three days of delays, a U.S.-chartered ferry carrying Americans and other foreigners out of the chaos of Libya finally arrived Friday at the Mediterranean island of Malta.The Maria Dolores ferry evacuated over 300 passengers, including at least 167 U.S. citizens, away from the turmoil that has engulfed the North African nation as residents rise up over Moammar Gadhafi's iron-fisted rule.
Minutes after the ship docked in Malta's Valletta harbor, a few people on wheelchairs were escorted out. Women holding babies then walked down a ramp, while others held the hands of children as they stepped off the ship after 8-hour voyage across the choppy Mediterranean Sea
The passengers have been stuck aboard the catamaran since Wednesday in their quest to escape Libya's escalating unrest, but strong winds and high seas had prevented the ferry from leaving the Libyan capital of Tripoli."It was pretty uncomfortable just because of the delay," said Lucile Usielmerazcerna, another evacuee from Santa Cruz, California. "It was really rough waters coming over here, also having to stay in the dock for 2 or 3 days.""Right now I'm just feeling kind of good that we are here," she added.Tens of thousands of foreigners have been fleeing Libya this week. Turkish and Chinese workers climbed aboard ships by the thousands, Europeans mostly boarded evacuation flights and North Africans have been heading to Libya's borders with Egypt and Tunisia in overcrowded vans.[...]Another charter, this one sent by Canada, left Tripoli on Friday with only its crew aboard after it could not find any Canadians citizens waiting at the airport.China dispatched a navy ship to support the evacuation of its citizens. An estimated 30,000 Chinese live in Libya, working on dams, roads and other infrastructure projects. Most are now seeking to flee the country, where fighting between rebels and Libyan militiamen loyal to Gadhafi has killed hundreds. Chinese state media reported Friday that about 12,000 Chinese have been evacuated so far.[...]China also evacuated more than 450 citizens by plane and bus Friday - nearly half of them employees of Sinohydro, a state-owned company involved in construction, engineering, investment and real estate.India was sending two flights a day starting Saturday to evacuate some of the 18,000 Indians in Libya, as well as sending ships.The Italian military ship San Giorgio left the Libyan coast Friday with about 245 people, half of them Italians, said the ship's captain Enrico Giurelli. Rough seas and strong winds had delayed the operation. The ship is expected to arrive in Sicily on Sunday.[...]British Prime Minister David Cameron issued a similar call, adding his government was doing "everything it can" to get British nationals out.The British naval ship HMS Cumberland sailed from the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Thursday for Malta with 207 evacuees. The trip usually takes at least 15 hours but was expected to take hours longer because of rough seas. Cameron said a second warship - HMS York - was being sent to waters close to Libya to help with rescue missions."People do need to leave now and that is the message that I give very strongly to British citizens in Libya," Cameron said."For those in the desert, we will do everything we can and we are active on that right now to help get you out."Britain, meanwhile, denied a report it had paid bribes to Libyan officials to help facilitate evacuation flights. A Foreign Office spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with policy, said "paying charges levied by the authorities at a foreign airport is not bribery."Sam Dewhirst of Leeds, England, however, said he believed Britons' exit might have been eased."I think our people probably smoothed the way with a few bribes to get us in to get us preferential treatment," Dewhirst said in Malta.Greece had to overcome serious hurdles to obtain landing clearance to evacuate 230 Greeks from Libya to Athens on Friday."It was total chaos on every level, and quite troubling for the people involved. But we got our people out," said Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Dollis, who traveled to Libya to coordinate the effort. "It took us three days just to get clearance to land."Turkey also faced severe problems in obtaining Libyan landing permits but four Turkish military cargo planes were able to bring more than 400 Turks home from Tripoli.About 10,000 Turkish citizens have been evacuated so far, President Abdullah Gul said Friday. Turkey has up to 30,000 citizens working in Libya, most on construction projects.
