A Greek merchant vessel has been chartered by the Chinese government for the evacuation of "hundreds" of its citizens, but gave no further details, according to Reuters.
According to the Greek Defense Ministry and other government officials, the Mediterranean country is also sending a navy frigate, Salamis, which was approaching Tripoli late Thursday, to pick up its embassy staff members as well as about 70 Greeks and dozens of others from China, Cyprus, Britain and Malta after their governments requested help, Reuters reported.
The evacuations have been triggered by clashes between heavily armed rival militias in Libya resulting in the worst violence since the civil war three years ago, according to Reuters.
After weeks of fighting nearly 100 people have been killed, 400 others wounded, and much of the airport in Tripoli has been destroyed, Reuters reported.
Many countries have suspended operations at their embassies in Tripoli, including Greece and the United States, and advised their citizens to leave the country, according to Reuters.
The European Union said it was moving members of its border assistance mission and other staff in Libya to Tunisia, and earlier this week, Spain sent a military plane to pick up 60 people from Libya, while France sent two navy ships to collect 47 people, mostly French citizens, Reuters reported.
The Philippines' foreign secretary, Albert del Rosario, has said he will fly to Tunisia's Djerba Island near the Libyan border to help arrange the departure of about 13,000 Filipino workers from the Libyan cities of Benghazi and Misrata, as well as Tripoli, according to Reuters.
During the 2011 civil war, Greece assisted China and other countries in the Libya evacuation, basing many of its operations from the Mediterranean island of Crete, which is less than 185 miles from the east Libyan coast and has two international airports and a large hotel capacity, Reuters reported.
