Czechs close down embassy in Libya as of September

CTK

The Czech Republic will as of September 1 definitively close down its embassy in Libya that has operated from Tunisia since 2015 due to security reasons, and its agenda will be taken over by the embassy in Tunis, according to a document the cabinet is to debate at one of its next meetings.

Libya has been tormented by chaos since 2011, when an uprising against long-standing dictator Muammar Gaddafi broke out. With the West's assistance, the opponents succeeded in toppling Gaddafi but all attempts to make the country stable again failed.

In 2014, the security situation further deteriorated, which made the Czech Republic evacuate its embassy in Tripoli. Since April 2015, the embassy has shared premises with the Czech embassy in Tunisia.

"The situation in Libya has not improved and the latest development does not indicate any change in this negative trend. The probability of the Czech embassy's return to the Libyan capital is minimal in the foreseeable future," the Foreign Ministry writes in the document, adding that it considers the continuation of the current model pointless.

It says it wants to reinforce the staff of the embassy in Tunis. "The planned solution will enable a further direct contact with the Libyan developments, and at the same time, it will reduce the costs linked with the separate operation of a full-fledged embassy," the ministry writes, adding that the saved sum would be used to finance other diplomatic missions abroad.

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