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Turkey to send three frigates to escort evacuation ships

Türkiye Materials 24 February 2011 17:23 (UTC +04:00)
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal has said that Turkey prepared three more frigates to escort the ships which were sent to Libya to evacuate Turkish citizens back to home
Turkey to send three frigates to escort evacuation ships

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal has said that Turkey prepared three more frigates to escort the ships which were sent to Libya to evacuate Turkish citizens back to home, Anadolu News Agency reported.

Unal said on Thursday that the number of Turkish nationals, who were brought back to Turkey from Libya by air and sea ways, was 7,062 since February 19. He added that 21 foreign countries asked help from Turkey to evacuate their own nationals from Libya.

Noting that Turkey responded positively to these demands but the evacuation of Turks had a priority, Unal said that 59 foreign country nationals had been evacuated from Libya by "Orhan Gazi-1" and "Osman Gazi-1" ferries, and brought to Turkey.

According to unconfirmed reports, around 1,000 people have been killed in Libya since protests against Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year reign began last week.

Unal said that a military personnel ship and a ferryboat were expected to reach Libya today.

Unal also thanked officials of Tunisia and Egypt which helped the evacuation of Turks from Libya via their countries.

When asked about Turkey's stance regarding the incidents in Libya, Unal said that security of Turks in that country had a priority, adding that there were more than 25,000 Turkish nationals in that country.

He said that the legitimate demands of every people in the region should be taken into consideration.

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