#US Ambassador-Designate to Türkiye Jeffry Lane Flake presented a copy of his letter of credentials to Deputy Foreign Minister Ambassador Sedat Önal. pic.twitter.com/IpMnnZWA3K
🇺🇸 Earlier today, Ambassador Satterfield presented his credentials to President Erdogan. Amb. Satterfield: “I am honored to represent the United States in Turkey. My government is committed to strengthening this important relationship with a NATO ally and partner.” pic.twitter.com/YNIPfUrpub
Merhaba! Eşim Cheryl ile birlikte #Ankara’ya gelmekten mutluluk duyuyoruz! Sıcak karşılamanız için teşekkür ederiz. Türkiye’de olmaktan memnuniyet duyuyoruz.
"Pause in Turkey's operation in Syria is not a cease-fire, cease-fire can only happen between two legitimate sides" – Turkey's Cavusoglu pic.twitter.com/VRAre2I0Aj
The US just ratified Turkey’s plan to effectively extend its border 30km into Syria with no ability to meaningfully influence facts on the ground. Turkey says it’s the entire border from the Euphrates to Iraq (450x30km) to be controlled by its military forces. Non-implementable.
LIVE — FM Çavuşoğlu: We have given our response to President Trump's letter on the field. Regarding its tone, the American society itself is giving the best response by saying "we have never seen such lack of finesse"
Here is @SecPompeo and @VP and erdogan. A US official tell us pence asked @trpresidency twice to allow media in. We were allowed in — no questions allowed — for about 45 seconds. pic.twitter.com/eZESiI1iwe
Updated on 7/27/14 with media reports on number of evacuees.
In the early morning of July 26, the State Department finally suspended all embassy operations in Libya and evacuated all its staff overland to Tunisia, due to ongoing violence between Libyan militias in the immediate vicinity of the embassy in Tripoli. The new preferred official term for these personnel movements now appears to be “relocation,”perhaps to avoid any negative connotation that might be attached to the use of the term “evacuation.” So this is a relocation but under armed escorts.
The State Department also released an updated Travel Warning for Libya (excerpt below):
The Department of State warns U.S. citizens against all travel to Libya and recommends that U.S. citizens currently in Libya depart immediately. On July 26, the U.S. Embassy suspended all embassy operations in Libya and relocated staff, due to ongoing violence between Libyan militias in the immediate vicinity of the Embassy. This Travel Warning supersedes the Travel Warning issued on May 27, 2014.
Please direct inquiries regarding U.S. citizens in Libya to LibyaEmergencyUSC@state.gov. Callers in the United States and Canada may dial the toll free number 1-888-407-4747. Callers outside the United States and Canada may dial 1-202-501-4444.
The security situation in Libya remains unpredictable and unstable. The Libyan government has not been able to adequately build its military and police forces and improve security following the 2011 revolution. Many military-grade weapons remain in the hands of private individuals, including antiaircraft weapons that may be used against civilian aviation. Crime levels remain high in many parts of the country. In addition to the threat of crime, various groups have called for attacks against U.S. citizens and U.S. interests in Libya. Extremist groups in Libya have made several specific threats this year against U.S. government officials, citizens, and interests in Libya. Because of the presumption that foreigners, especially U.S. citizens, in Libya may be associated with the U.S. government or U.S. NGOs, travelers should be aware that they may be targeted for kidnapping, violent attacks, or death. U.S. citizens currently in Libya should exercise extreme caution and depart immediately.
[…]
The status of the country’s interim government remains uncertain. The newly elected Council of Representatives is scheduled to convene by August 4, but political jockeying continues over where and when to seat the parliament. Heavy clashes between rival factions erupted in May 2014 in Benghazi and other eastern cities. In Tripoli, armed groups have contested territory near Tripoli International Airport since July 13, rendering the airport non-operational. State security institutions lack basic capabilities to prevent conflict, and there remains a possibility of further escalation.
Closure of an embassy indicates the termination of diplomatic relations, and that has not happened here. Here is Secretary Kerry emphasizing that this is a suspension of embassy operations not a closure.
American officials told NBC that 158 Americans, including 80 heavily armed U.S. Marines, left the embassy compound early Saturday. The Daily Beast reported that “158 U.S. diplomats and 80 U.S. Marines evacuated the American embassy in Tripoli, Libya.” A variation of those two numbers have been widely reported in the media. The US Embassy in Tripoli had a skeleton crew prior to the evacuation, so “158 U.S. diplomats” evacuated from Tripoli is a questionable number. Perhaps the only one who got closest to the number evacuated is Reuters, reporting that “the eight or so U.S. diplomats who had been in Libya and a security staff numbering 200 or more drove out of the country on Saturday under a heavy escort….”
In any case, the last time the State Department suspended its operation in Libya was in February 2011. (See State Dept Suspends US Embassy Operations in #Libya, Withdraws All Personnel). It was subsequently reopened in September 2011. Following the attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, the State Department ordered the departure of all non-emergency U.S. government personnel from Libya on September 12, 2012 but did not appear to suspend operations then (if it did, we missed it). See our related Libya posts here.
The current suspension of embassy operations follows the temporary withdrawalof the United Nations Support Mission (UNSMIL) staff from Libya last July 14. That UN convoy reportedly left Tripoli by road headed for the Tunisian border, 170 kilometres (110 miles) to the west. Yesterday, July 25, the Turkish Foreign Ministry also announced the suspension of its mission’s operations in Tripoli for security reasons and the evacuation of more than 500 Turkish nationals similarly via Tunisia.
The State Department’s media note this morning :
This relocation was done over land, with our personnel arriving in Tunisia this morning, and traveling onward from there. We are grateful to the Government of Tunisia for its cooperation and support.
Something else to note about an evacuation unfolding in the age of social media. During the evac, Libyan tweeps reported “3 convoys with total of 27 cars +1 lorry were leaving the US embassy in airport rd. Marines on foot and planes above.” Other tweets of note:
#Tripoli#Libya: Temporary disruptions in phone and internet communications overnight coinciding with evacuation of US Embassy — James Wheeler (@wheelertweets) July 26, 2014
Never underestimate the power of fear! Fighting militias stop their madness as US fighter jets enter #Tripoli airspace. #Libya — Ahmed Sanalla (@ASanalla) July 26, 2014
According to Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby, the U.S. military assisted in the relocation of personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Libya on Saturday, July 26 at the request of the Department of State. The operation lasted five hours without incident:
At the request of the Department of State, the U.S. military assisted in the relocation of personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Libya on Saturday, July 26. All embassy personnel were relocated, including the Marine security guards who were providing security at the embassy and during the movement. The embassy staff was driven in vehicles to Tunisia. During movement, F-16’s, ISR assets and an Airborne Response Force with MV-22 Ospreys provided security. The mission was conducted without incident, and the entire operation lasted approximately five hours.
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