Russia evacuates diplomats from Libya

MOSCOW - Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday that most employees of its embassy in Libya were evacuated to Tunisia and will return to Moscow on Friday.

"All employee of the Russian embassy and their family members successfully crossed the border with Tunisia in the afternoon on October 3," ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement.

The Emergency Situations Ministry is sending a plane to fly them back to Moscow on Friday, he said.

Lukashevich added that a group of Russian diplomats and senior employees of the embassy "will stay temporarily in Tunisia in order to maintain work contacts with Libya" until the safety of the mission is guaranteed.

A group of unidentified gunmen fired at the embassy in Tripoli and attempted to penetrate its territory on Wednesday evening, with no injuries reported among the diplomatic mission.