One of the two Air Corps aircraft which were on standby in Malta today has landed at Tripoli International Airport this evening.
The aircraft landed at 4.50pm Irish time, and Department of Foreign Affairs officials are currently co-ordinating the evacuation of up to 70 Irish citizens seeking to leave Libya.
There is increasing concern over the safety of Irish citizens the country due to the deteriorating political situation there.
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed there were about 70 Irish citizens in Libya, including 45 in the Tripoli area. The remainder are in the eastern city of Benghazi, where clashes between Muammar Gadafy's forces and protesters calling for an end to his 42-year rule have been most pronounced.
The group includes at least six Irish workers in Benghazi with Dublin-based firm Mercury Engineering. Four women who hold Irish passports are long-term residents in the city and married to Libyan men.
US authorities have put on a ferry from Tripoli and are letting Irish people board, the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed. The US State Department said today it had begun processing citizens in Tripoli for evacuation to Malta aboard a chartered ferry with room for about 600 passengers.
Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini said as many as 1,000 people may have been killed in the violence and witnesses described scenes of chaos as some of the estimated 1.5 million foreign nationals scrambled to leave.
Human Rights Watch had estimated 233 had been killed, with 62 killed in Tripoli in the past two days. Opposition groups had put the figure far much higher.
Last night, a defiant Col Gadafy vowed to fight to his “last drop of blood” and urged supporters to strike back against Libyan protesters to defend his embattled regime. He declared he was ready to die "a martyr" in Libya. "I shall remain here defiant," he said on state television, refusing to bow to calls to step down from some of his own ministers, soldiers and protesters. His speech on State TV marks an escalation of the crackdown that has left hundreds dead and thrown the capital into scenes of mayhem, wild shooting and bodies in the streets.
After a week of upheaval, protesters backed by defecting army units have claimed control over almost the entire eastern half of Libya’s 1,600km Mediterranean coast, including several oil-producing areas.
The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting that ended with a statement condemning the crackdown, expressing “grave concern” and calling for an immediate end to the violence” and steps to address the legitimate demands of the Libyan people.
Irish officials have been liaising with European Union counterparts to establish options to assist citizens and help them leave the country safely. The evacuation is being co-ordinated by the Department of Foreign Affairs' emergency crisis centre.
The two Air Corps aircraft, a Casa plane and a LearJet with nine crew members, flew into Malta last night.
The Casa aircraft, routinely used for fisheries patrols, can carry 21 people and the LearJet can hold eight. "The LearJet was dispatched with a spare crew for the Casa if a window of opportunity arises," a Defence Forces spokesman said.
Britain refused to rule out sending military flights into the country without permission to evacuate stranded British nationals, Foreign Secretary William Hague said this afternoon. "Our preference clearly is for people to be able to leave on commercial flights ... or on our specially-arranged charter flights ... rather than to send in military flights without permission, which is obviously riskier for the safety of all those involved," he said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has advised against all travel to Libya and warned Irish citizens who are already in the country to leave. Anyone who has any concerns over family or friends in Libya can contact its Crisis Centre on 01 4180222.