According to a statement from the ministry of external affairs, nearly 1,000 citizens were flown back Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning from Libyan capital Tripoli on three Air India special flights.
The ministry said, as scheduled, some 14,000 Indians have been evacuated from Libya since ‘Operation Safe Homecoming’ was launched nearly two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, talking to reporters outside Parliament on Thursday, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said that few Indians still stranded will be evacuated soon, if they want to come home. Mr Krishna commended the efforts of those involved in the evacuation.
Around 18,000 Indians were based in Libya when a violent uprising against President Muammar Gaddafi’s rule began in mid-February. Not all of them wanted to return home.
Defence sources told our correspondent that Naval vessels INS Jalashwa and INS Mysore have been kept in the Mediterranean, just off the Libyan coast. They have, however, not been pressed into service, given the successful air-bridge put in place between Libya and India since 26th of last month.