U.S shuts embassy in Libya

The United States said it has temporarily shut its embassy in the Libyan capital Tripoli over security concerns.
Embassy staff, including marine guards providing security to the embassy, have been evacuated to Tunisia “due to the ongoing violence resulting from clashes between Libyan militias,” it added.
The state department has also urged US nationals not to go to Libya.
The BBC reports that the move comes amid fierce clashes between rival militias in the capital, with recent fighting at Tripoli airport.

Libya has been gripped by instability since the 2011 uprising, with swathes of the country controlled by militias.
State department spokeswoman, Marie Harf, said the withdrawal “underscored President Barack Obama administration’s concern about the heightened risk to American diplomats abroad.”
U.S ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed in an attack on the U.S consulate in Benghazi in September 2012.
The U.S embassy in Tripoli was already operating on limited staffing. All remaining personnel were driven overland to Tunisia in the early hours of Saturday, Ms Harf said.
It is the second time in more than three years that the U.S has closed its embassy in Libya.