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French embassy in Libya hit by car bomb

Two guards at the French embassy in the Libyan capital of Tripoli have reportedly been wounded after a car bomb exploded outside the building on Tuesday.

Published: 23 April 2013 08:00 CEST
French embassy in Libya hit by car bomb
Libyan security services and civilians gather across the street after a car bomb attack on the French embassy in Tripoli, Libya on April 23rd. Photo: Mahmud Turkia/AFP

Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdel Aziz branded the act a "terrorist" incident, and French President François Hollande said Tripoli must act quickly to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

The attack comes as Libya continues to suffer from a lack of security following the 2011 ouster of long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi and as French forces are engaged in a battle against Islamist extremists in Mali.

The explosion occurred around 7:10 am (6:10 am French time), Tripoli security chief Mahmud al-Sherif said, after an explosives-laden car was parked outside the mission's front door.

Sherif said "this was not a suicide bombing," adding that "we face several threats and enemies, and it is too early to point to any party in particular."

An AFP correspondent said the wall surrounding the property was destroyed and the embassy building extensively damaged, with one French employee saying "there's nothing left of my office".

The explosion, which created a deep crater in the street, destroyed two cars parked nearby, damaged two neighbouring villas and blew out the windows of a shop 200 metres away.

The street in front of the mission was flooded with water, apparently from a pipe ripped by the blast.

A French source said one guard was seriously wounded and another lightly hurt in the attack on the mission, housed in a two-storey villa in the upmarket Gargaresh area.

Libyan state news agency Lana added that a girl living in the neighbourhood was also hurt, but gave no details.

"It was a big mistake to site the French embassy in our neighbourhood," said a local resident.

Jamal Omar, who lives across the street and whose face was slightly injured, said the car must have been parked only minutes before the explosion.

"I was sweeping outside my house, and there wasn't any car in front of the embassy. The explosion happened less than five minutes after I went back inside."

France condemned the "odious" attack.

"In liaison with the Libyan authorities, the services of the state will do everything to establish the circumstances of this odious act and rapidly identify the perpetrators," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in a statement.

A diplomat in Paris said Fabius would fly to Tripoli later in the day.

Hollande said in a statement that "France expects the Libyan authorities to ensure that all possible light is shed on this unacceptable act so that the perpetrators are identified and brought to justice."

Libya's foreign minister condemned the bombing as a "terrorist act," but decline to speculate on who carried it out or what the motive was.

"We strongly condemn this act, which we regard as a terrorist act against a brother nation that supported Libya during the revolution" of 2011 that ousted Kadhafi, Abdel Aziz told AFP at the scene.

"We regret this act and express our solidarity with the French government and people," he added, announcing that a joint commission had been formed to investigate the attack.

The French primary and high schools, both located in the same neighbourhood as the embassy, closed on Tuesday for an indefinite time, parents told AFP.

France, under then president Nicolas Sarkozy, led NATO air raids against Kadhafi's forces under a UN resolution aimed at protecting civilians.

Since Kadhafi's fall, Libya has been plagued by persistent insecurity, especially in the region of Benghazi, which has been hit by bombings and assassinations that has forced many Westerners to leave the eastern city.

Four Americans, including ambassador Chris Stevens, were killed when heavily armed men overran the Benghazi mission on September 11th, setting fire to much of the compound and then attacking a nearby annex.

The Benghazi attack sparked a ferocious backlash from Republicans during the 2012 US presidential race, who alleged that President Barack Obama's administration sought to cover up details of the incident.

The violence in Libya is often blamed on radical Islamists persecuted under Kadhafi and who now want to settle old scores, while security remains the prerogative of militias in a number of important areas.

Armed jihadist groups hurt by the French intervention in northern Mali had threatened retaliation by attacking French interests across the world.

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OSLO

INTERVIEW: How the UK’s Oslo envoy is getting stranded Brits home

The UK's ambassador to Norway Richard Wood himself only got out of quarantine on Wednesday after twelve long days. But he's nonetheless been working tirelessly with embassy staff over the last two weeks to help get Brits back to the UK.

Published: 25 March 2020 15:49 CET
INTERVIEW: How the UK's Oslo envoy is getting stranded Brits home
British ambassador Richard Wood takes a break from quarantine last week. Photo: Screenshot/Twitter
He spoke to The Local as he launched a video appeal to British people in Norway temporarily for business or a holiday to take the next available flight back to the UK. 
 
“There are still daily flights on British Airways and also some regional flights to Aberdeen at the time of speaking, but I don't know for how long,” he said. 
 
“People risk finding themselves stuck here against their will once the travel options have run out, and they will then be separated from friends and family in the UK. They may also not be covered for medical care in Norway if they were to fall ill.” 
 
Most of the British citizens who were in Norway at the time of the country's lockdown was announced on March 12 have already managed to make it back to the UK, Wood said. 
 
Initially, many were confused when the rules were announced. 
 
“The announcement caught people by surprise, and it was made retrospective, so there were a number of tourists already in the country who were told that they had to go into quarantine, and it wasn't clear to them whether they had the option of leaving, or whether they had to stay the full two weeks.”  
 
The embassy worked with Norway's authorities to clarify that day that non-residents who chose to leave the country immediately would not need to spend 14 days in quarantine. 
 
Embassy staff then had to negotiate with Norwegian county and municipal governments who were unwilling to let foreigners they believed should be in quarantine travel to airports. 
 
Now, the few who are still left in Norway are stuck because of flight cancellations. 
 
“We're aware of a couple of groups of people who have had difficulties because successive flighs have been cancelled,” he said. “We're not aware of any people who seem to be stuck here without any possibility of return.” 
 
Aside from getting Brits in Norway home, he said, he has also helped get Norwegian citizens back to the UK by finding space for them on flights for British nationals. 
 
Beyond the consular side of things, the UK also had to repatriate British troops and military equipment from norther Norway where they were preparing to take part in a Nato exercise. 
 
Then there is work ongoing ensuring supplies of Norwegian gas and electricity to the UK if the crisis worsens, and ensuring fish exports can still make it to UK supermarkets even if road borders are closed across Europe. 
 
And that all needs to be done with most staff out of the office. 
 
“It's quite interesting,” Wood said. “We're adjusting to new ways of doing things: we have all of our meetings by video conferencing and audio conferencing. We are keeping the embassy open. It's certainly open for business, and we're still doing the things we would be normally — talking to companies, talking to the ministries — we're just doing it differently.” 
 
Here's a tweet from the UK embassy describing the new work conditions.  
 
And here's Richard Wood reporting from quarantine last week. 
 
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