Bids to get Canadians out of the chaos in Libya are apparently continuing to falter, even as the federal government condemns – in increasingly strong terms – violent efforts in the African nation to suppress an uprising there.
Amid conflicting and chaotic reports from Libya, a Canadian government official said that the latest flight set up by Ottawa to pick up Canadians stranded in the capital of Tripoli actually left empty Friday.
"There were no Canadians at the airport at the time, and the aircraft cannot stay put," a government official told Postmedia News in an emailed statement.
"There were no other citizens from like-minded countries who needed a flight."
The flight had planned to take any stranded Canadians to Amman, Jordan.
It was unclear why there had been no Canadians to meet the airplane, especially in light of the desperate efforts many have made in recent days to leave the embattled nation.
Thousands of foreign nationals, including Canadians, have been trying to get out of Libya to escape the violence of a bloody uprising against the 41-year reign of dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
As many as 200 Canadians have left on flights originating from other nations, most headed to European destinations.
The Canadian government, however, has struggled to get its citizens out of the chaos in Libya, sparking anger and frustration from those left in the country and criticism from the opposition Liberals.
A flight chartered by the federal government and due to arrive Thursday had to be cancelled due to security concerns on the ground and at the airport in Tripoli.
More than two dozen Canadians have also endured a nerve-racking delay at they waited on a ship set to leave Tripoli. The vessel was delayed by bad weather.
There was a report from Agence France-Presse Friday that a delayed U.S.-chartered ferry -_the M/V Maria Delores – carrying more than 300 evacuees departed for the island of Malta.
Also on Friday, Defence Minister Peter MacKay condemned the ongoing violence in Libya as "insidious" and lashed out at the country’s leadership.
"Libya has experienced . . . yet another night of violence. I fear Libyans feel no safer today than they did yesterday," MacKay said.
"Through their struggle for democracy, they have endured unforgettable chaos, violence and a regime that inexplicably and outrageously attacks its own citizens.
"The outrageous and insidious abuse of government power in Libya must stop and we, Canada, stand united with like-minded peaceful nations in support of the legitimate aspirations of the people of Libya."
The Canadian government also has a large C-17 military cargo plane on standby in Rome, MacKay said Friday.
The military plane could be used to pick up a large number of Canadians from Tripoli, depending on the need.
There were fresh signs the violence was continuing Friday, as witnesses said that forces loyal to Gadhafi had opened fire on protesters in several areas of the Libyan capital after weekly Muslim prayers.
"There were deaths in the streets of Sug al-Jomaa," a witness told Agence France-Presse.
Chayne den Ouden, a school teacher from Nanaimo, B.C., fled Libya this week after finally paying her way through and out of the airport in Tripoli.
She lashed out at the response of the Harper government to the crisis.
"Knowing full well that Gadhafi is an unpredictable madman, they made absolutely no effort to step in and assist their citizens early," she said.
"On Sunday, I was still receiving emails (from Foreign Affairs) stating that western Libya was safe for travel. On Monday, they were telling us to stay put. On Tuesday, as soon as I heard that speech (by Gadhafi), I wanted to get out of there."
Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon has said that his ministry will get Canadians out of Libya "by any means possible."
Dimitri Soudas, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s director of communications, said Thursday night that Harper and British Prime Minister David Cameron had discussed "continued co-operation to evacuate our citizens."
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