By IANS,
New Delhi : With fighting intensifying in Libya, the government Friday said it was trying to get back the body of an Indian national killed in the besieged north African country and offered to assist those who wished to return home.
Imtiaz Alam, a resident of Lucknow, was killed in a bombing attack in Tripoli last week. He was working at the residence of a Libyan official in the capital.
“Efforts are under way to get his mortal remains back to India. His family in Lucknow has been intimated by his Indian colleague,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement here.
The ministry said the International Organization of Migration (IOM) was making arrangements to evacuate stranded foreign nationals in Libya by two ships that leaves the country Friday and Saturday.
“Indian nationals still in Libya have been informed about the initiative,” the ministry said.
“Those who have expressed a desire to return are being assisted, to the extent possible, despite the very difficult ground situation and extremely limited resources with our Mission at Tripoli.” India is also preparing to send a ship under the aegis of the IOM to assist Indians.
The fighting between rebels and Muammar Gaddaffi’s forces has entered the final stage with rebels taking control of large parts of Libya. India is also understood to be establishing connections with the Transitional National Council (TNC), which has been recognised by many countries as the legitimate government of that country.