Libyan diplomats being expelled from Canada
Posted Aug 9, 2011 03:08:28 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
All Libyan diplomats who remain in Ottawa are being expelled.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird says the diplomats have five business days to vacate the Libyan Embassy and leave the country.
He calls the decision the latest step in Canada’s effort to isolate and delegitimize the regime of Moammar Gadhafi.
Baird says the government is also cutting off the diplomats’ access to the embassy’s bank accounts.
Canada is part of the NATO mission enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya that aims to shield Libyans from attacks by Gadhafi’s forces.
Canada and other western countries recognize the National Transitional Council as the legitimate representatives of the Libyan people.
A top Canadian general, meanwhile, says Libyan rebels are making “slow and steady” progress in their attempts to unseat Gadhafi.
Major-General Jonathan Vance told a Commons foreign affairs committee the rebels are getting more resources and are becoming more experienced.
He doesn’t expect to see a quick end to the fight, now in its fifth month.
