WORLD
France Expels 14 Libyan Diplomats Loyal To Qadhafi
Baku, May 7 (AZERTAC). France has ordered fourteen Libyan diplomats loyal to the regime of Colonel Moammar Qadhafi to leave the country within two days, the foreign ministry announced Friday.
The French foreign ministry in a statement said the 14 Libyan diplomats have been declared "persona non grata," and ordered to leave the country within 48 hours. However, the identities of the Libyan diplomats were not revealed.
France is one of the few countries that have formally recognized the leadership of the Libyan rebel movement , better known as the Transitional National Council (TNC), as the north African country`s legitimate government. The TNC currently controls most of eastern Libya and is based in the Mediterranean port city of Benghazi.
A day earlier, Britain had ordered two Libyan diplomats to leave the country before May 11 for what it termed as "unacceptable behavior." Four days earlier, London had expelled the Libyan ambassador over a mob attack on the British embassy in Tripoli, which was triggered by the death of one of Qadhafi`s sons in a NATO airstrike.
On Thursday, the Libya Contact Group, comprising of 22 countries and six international organizations, had agreed to make available a temporary fund of $250 million immediately for providing non-military assistance to the Libyan rebels. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Group`s members in Rome.