Determination @gsDetermination France joins Benghazi Western exodus - The Daily Starhttp://goo.gl/fb/EPpTF #libya Collapse Reply Retweet Favorite Buffer More 7:50 PM - 25 Jan 13 · Details France joins Benghazi Western exodus, Libya says not informedJanuary 26, 2013 12:10 AM A police vehicle is seen stationed outside the Swedish Consulate in Benghazi. PARIS/TRIPOLI: France Friday joined Britain, other European states and Australia in pulling its nationals out of Benghazi because of a terrorist threat that the Libyan government has played down. Having insisted Thursday that there was "no new intelligence" to justify the Europeans' concerns, Libya said Friday it had not been informed of their plans to pull citizens out of the country's second city and was seeking clarification from Britain. "There has been no formal notice to us from any other country of its intention to evacuate its citizens from the city of Benghazi," an Interior Ministry source was quoted as saying by Lana news agency. France, whose military action in Mali is said to have provoked the threat, confirmed Friday that it had followed the lead from Britain. "The information we had on the threats was sufficiently reliable to justify telling our nationals to leave the region," Foreign Ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot said. France has only around 40 citizens in Benghazi out of 250-300 in Libya as a whole. In an updated travel advisory, the Foreign Ministry said French nationals should avoid eastern Libya altogether. Australia's department of foreign affairs had earlier issued a statement saying: "We are aware of a specific, imminent threat to Westerners in Benghazi. All Australians in Benghazi should leave immediately. "There is a risk of retaliatory attacks against Western targets in Libya following the...
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