The government through the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Indonesian Embassy in Tripoli would continue to monitor the latest developments in the volatile country, and the conditions of Indonesian citizens there.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia will abide by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution on Libya which among other things calls for the imposition of a no-fly zone on the country, a foreign ministry spokesman said.

"According to the UN Charter, every decision taken by the UN is binding on its members and Indonesian as a member country will certainly abide by what the UNSC has decided this time," foreign ministry spokesman Michael Tene said here Friday.

The UN Security Council had passed a resolution to halt the attacks of Moamar Gaddafi troops against rebel forces in Libya by reaffirming an arms embargo on Libya, confiscating Gaddafi`s assets, protecting civilians, efforts for a cease-fire, and allow "all necessary action " to protect civilian facilities.

About the fate of Indonesians still in Libya after the issuance of the UN resolution, Tene said the government through the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Indonesian Embassy in Tripoli would continue to monitor the latest developments in the volatile country, and the conditions of Indonesian citizens there.

"We will continue to follow the latest developments, take the appropriate measures in accordance with the developments with the aim of ensuring the safety of our citizens," Tene said.

According to Tene, so far a total of d 839 Indonesian citizens had been evacuated from Libya, while 515 of them had been repatriated to Indonesia via Tunisia.

"In general, almost all of them have returned to Indonesia," said Tene.

He also said several members of the Indonesian Embassy staff in Tripoli and about 100 Indonesian workers were now still residing in Libya.

Meanwhile, Libyan rebels welcomed the UN resolution because Gaddafi`s troops would then be unable to launch air strikes against them, while pro-government citizens considered it as an intervention in Libya`s domestic affairs, according to some news agency reports.

Libya was hit by political turmoil that has turned into a bloody "civil war" over the recent weeks, with the number of casualties due to fighting expected to continue rising.

Waves of evacuations of foreigners from Libya had been an exodus of more than 200,000 people from the country, according to AFP news agency reports.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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