FED:Australia withdraws diplomats from Libya

AAP General News (Australia)
02-27-2011
FED:Australia withdraws diplomats from Libya

By Adam Gartrell, AAP Diplomatic Correspondent

CANBERRA, Feb 27 AAP - Australia has withdrawn its diplomats from Libya as worsening
violence prompted the United Nations to impose sanctions on Muammar Gaddafi's regime.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Australian Consul-General Tom Yates and two other
officials had been evacuated to Malta as Gaddafi's bloody crackdown on anti-regime protesters
intensified.

"As prime minister, I've got a duty of care to our consular staff and like other nations
I formed the view that it was not safe to have …