Britain withdraws staff from Libyan embassy

London cites political ‘volatility’ as reason behind recall of diplomatic employees from Tripoli

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Foreign Office says it is temporarily withdrawing some staff from its embassy in the Libyan capital in light of recent political unrest.

Heavily armed militias have been besieging government buildings in Tripoli over the past month, blocking access to ministries to push their political demands.

Britain’s Foreign Office said in a statement Friday that given the security implications of the recent political “volatility,” it is temporarily pulling a “small number of staff” from the embassy.

The Foreign Office said the staff being withdrawn are mainly those who work in support of Libyan ministries affected by recent events and stressed the embassy remains “open as usual.”

It currently advises against all but essential travel to Tripoli and against all travel to other parts of Libya, such as Benghazi.