‘No safety in Libya; people are looting, killing’

The first batch of 528 Indians flew back home on Sunday from Libya with tales of horror from the strife-torn country.

“The situation is very bad. People are looting. They are even killing. There is no police. There is no safety,” Karamvir, a carpenter working for a construction company, told reporters at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

DNA tracked down a few Indians post their return following the unrest. One of them was 42-year-old Chuni Lal Sharma, a BHEL employee who recounted bad experiences and stories of several of his associates whose belongings were robbed. “People were being killed and looted. We were very scared for our lives. Things improved a little after army took control,” Sharma told DNA.

Most people were confined to their homes or stranded at airports ever since protests began. Ujjwal Aggarwal, a 33-year-old computer science lecturer spent two days at the airport before he could board a flight back to India.    

“On way to the airport, it was chaotic with civilians and military everywhere. People were on the road in tents. Before reaching airport, my documents were checked at least 20 times at different places,” he said.

Tales of loot and stolen belongings abounded after most people started leaving their homes and camping in tents or at the airport. Mohammed Sali, an engineer from Kochi, who was in Libya for 31 years, said, “I along with a few Indians was stuck in a camp for two days and some people looted all our belongings, including laptops and phones.”
Most of those who returned claimed they would not mind returning to the country once the protests abated.  —With PTI inputs