Italian Premier calls on EU nations to stay in Libya

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has called on EU member states to remain in Libya.

"Staying in Libya signifies trying to have a role in several of the most important geopolitical questions of the coming years: peace, security and immigration," Renzi was quoted as saying by Italian media.

Italy, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, has kept its embassy open in Libya, along with Britain and Malta among other countries.

With rival militias plunging the North African nation back into serious unrest over the past fortnight, many countries have shut their embassies and evacuated staff, including Germany, Holland, Switzerland and the United States.

Italy has evacuated around 120 of its citizens from Libya in recent days, along with around 30 people of other nationalities, and is contacting remaining citizens in the country to extract them.

The European Union on Thursday also said it had moved its staff to Tunisia in light of the deteriorating security situation.

Renzi is due in Cairo on Saturday where the unrest in Libya – as well as that in Syria, Gaza and Iraq – will be at the centre of discussions.