Russia evacuates hundreds from Libya

Four Russian civil defence planes have evacuated hundreds of Russians, including many women and children, from strife- torn Libya, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

Among those evacuated were also high-ranking managers of such Russian state-owned companies doing business in Libya such as Gazprom, Lukoil and the Russian national railways, the ministry said according to a report by Echo Moskwy.

In a second phase of the evacuation efforts, the passenger vessel "Holy Stefan" has left the port of Montenegro and was steaming towards Libya to pick up about 1,000 Russians, Turks and Serbs working for Russian firms in North Africa, DPA reported.

Passengers disembarking from the planes at Moscow's Domododevo airport gave eyewitness accounts of the violence going on in Libya.

"Fighter-bombers were circling above us, and there was fighting on the streets," one woman, Nadesha Danilova, said. "Civilians were also being shot at. There's a lot of bloodshed."

Nail Chabibullin, identified as a manager for the Russian firm Tatneft, said machinegun fire was heard at night. "It's a civil war."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, commenting on the unrest in the North Africa and Arab region, warned against attempts from the outside to try to influence events.

Lavrov made the remark in a telephone conversation with Arab League secretary general Amr Moussa.