U.S. embassy in Libya evacuates staff amid intensifying clashes

The State Department evacuated its staff from the U.S. embassy in Libya today due to "the ongoing violence resulting from clashes between Libyan militias," BBC News reports.

The embassy, located in Tripoli, was already running with very few staff members. Heavily armed Marines drove the remaining personnel to Tunisia early this morning, with air support in the form of two American F-16 fighter jets, along with several unmanned drones, according to NBC News.

Libya has suffered from instability since dictator Moammar Gadhafi's fall in 2011, and the country became enormously controversial in the U.S. following the September 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, when Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed.

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In addition to evacuating the embassy, the State Department issued a travel warning, urging U.S. nationals not to enter the country, and those already in Libya to depart.