Royal Navy ship diverted to Tripoli to evacuate Britons from Libya
Up to 300 people given last chance to leave on HMS Enterprise before UK embassy closes because of militia fighting
A Royal Navy support ship has been sent to the Libyan capital Tripoli to evacuate the last remaining British citizens after the ambassador decided "reluctantly" to close down operations in the country.
More fighting around Tripoli airport killed 22 people overnight, as competing militias fought for control in both the east and west of the country.
Other embassies, including America's, has already closed down and pulled out staff. The British ambassador, Michael Aron, and his key diplomats had stayed on but on Friday the Foreign Office also decided to close from Monday.
Smoke rises after rockets fired by one of Libya's militias struck and ignited a building after clashes between rival militias, in an area at Alswani road in Tripoli (HANI AMARA/REUTERS)
Smoke rises after rockets fired by one of Libya's militias struck and ignited a building after clashes between rival militias, in an area at Alswani road in Tripoli (HANI AMARA/REUTERS)
HMS Enterprise, a survey ship, was diverted from routine operations in the Mediterranean overnight to head to Tripoli to pick up Britons, and docked on Sunday morning.
It is understood that Mr Aron and his staff will not be among those leaving but will be staying on for a short while before departing later.
There are said to be between 100 and 300 Britons in the country.
Mr Aron was at Tripoli harbour supervising the evacuation on Sunday morning.
A convoy containing non-essential embassy staff that was attempting to leave for Tunisia last Sunday came under fire in what appeared to be a criminal attack on the road west of Tripoli to the border. No-one was hurt, and the evacuation was eventually completed successfully.
The fighting in Libya has set the Islamist and non-Islamist factions from the western-supported uprising against Col Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 against each other. The airport is currently held by the Zintan brigade, based in the town south-west of Tripoli of the same name, and is anti-Islamist.
It is being attacked by the Misrata brigade, which supports the Muslim Brotherhood and other "soft Islamist" political factions.
The Zintan brigade is in unofficial alliance with an anti-Islamist group within the army led by a former Gaddafi-era officer who spent years in exile in the United States, Khalifa Haftar.
It has attacked the bases of extremist Islamist factions who are powerful in Benghazi in eastern Libya and neighbouring cities, but it has been condemned by senior government officials for operating without orders.
The Islamists, led by Ansar al-Sharia, which is proscribed as a terrorist group in western countries but operates openly in Libya, have fought back and seized army bases in Benghazi.
A newly elected parliament, in which Islamists make up a smaller faction than under its predecessor, the General National Congress, met for the first time on Saturday, in the city of Tobruk in the far east of the country, which is an anti-Islamist stronghold.
The Foreign Office is advising against all travel to Libya. British Airways cancelled all flights last Wednesday, though some airlines are still flying to Misurata airport and Tripoli's second airport, Mitega.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "As the FCO has made clear, the UK Government will provide assisted departure for a number of UK nationals before suspending consular operations on Monday.
"For operational reasons we will not discuss further details including whether, and in what ways, the MoD could support these efforts."
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