CRPF Commandos to Guard Reopened Indian Embassy in Libya

CRPF director general (DG) Gyanendra Pratap Singh said on Sunday that the personnel are “preparing” for deployment in Tripoli, similar to the security arrangement provided by the CRPF at the Indian embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.

Singh made this announcement while speaking at an event in the national capital to mark the 87th Raising Day of the force.

The Indian embassy in Libya was re-opened in July last year, after being closed for nearly five years due to the deteriorating security situation in the North African nation. The overall law-and-order and security scenario in Libya has remained fragile since the 2011 uprising that toppled dictator Muammar Gaddafi, with the country divided into eastern and western factions due to ongoing conflicts.

The CRPF had been securing the Indian embassy in Libya around four to five years ago. However, due to the escalation of violence, the embassy operations were shifted and affiliated with the Indian embassy in Tunisia, and the CRPF commandos were called back. With the embassy now operational again, they are being redeployed to Tripoli, where the Indian mission is located at 45, Al-Shatt Street, officials said.

About 40 CRPF commandos, led by a Deputy Commandant (DC)-rank officer, will take charge after receiving the required clearances from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

The CRPF has maintained a similar security arrangement at the Indian embassy in Iraq since 2019.

According to the Embassy of India in Tunisia, under the section “India-Libya Bilateral Relations,” around 3,800 Indian nationals were repatriated from Libya in 2014 due to the fragile security and political situation, which included six Indians kidnapped by ISIS.

“The Mission, which was temporarily relocated to D'Jerba (Tunisia), was later moved to Malta. The Mission in Tripoli resumed its operations in 2012 but was shut down again in April 2019 due to worsening security conditions,” it added.