Malta evacuates Benghazi consul

Malta's consul in Benghazi, Joe Pirotta was yesterday evacuated and brought to Malta after threats by unknown sources were sent to the Maltese diplomatic mission.

As a precautionary measure, the Maltese government evacuated the consul, however the embassy in Tripoli was not affected. It is unknown who sent the threats and the reason behind them.

Benghazi, the principal city of eastern Libya, is one of Libya's major economic centres, however since the end of the revolution which overthrew Muammar Gaddafi in

The coastal city, where many people demand autonomy from Tripoli, has seen a string of attacks on foreign embassies and companies as well as assassinations of army and police officers.

In September 2012, the US Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and four other Americans were killed during a series of raids on the US Diplomatic Mission by around 150 heavily-armed men.  

Pirotta, who served as first counsellor at the Maltese Embassy in Tripoli, was recently appointed as Consul for Benghazi.