Tajikistan's Foreign Ministry has asked the Russian leadership to help evacuate Tajik citizens from riot-struck Libya, official spokesman for the ministry said on Wednesday.
"A note was sent to the Russian Foreign Ministry yesterday, the issue is currently being discussed," Davlat Nazriev said.
According to international organizations, up to 500 people have been killed and up to 4,000 wounded in clashes with government forces since protests against longtime Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime began on February 15.
Tajikistan does not have a diplomatic mission in Tripoli, and the attempts of Tajikistan's embassy in Cairo to contact the Tajik citizens who live in Libya have not yielded result yet, he said.
"At the present moment, there are 21 Tajikistan's citizens in Libya, 14 of them are students," he said.
Russia has sent four planes to Libya to evacuate its citizens. A plane with 118 Russians onboard took off for home on Wednesday morning.
DUSHANBE, February 23 (RIA Novosti)
