TORONTO – The American ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed when a mob of protesters and gunmen overwhelmed the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, setting fire to it in outrage over a film that ridicules Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.
Chris Stevens, 52, died as he and a group of embassy employees went to the consulate to try to evacuate staff as a crowd of hundreds attacked the consulate Tuesday evening, many of them firing machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades.
Born and raised in California, Stevens earned his undergrad degree at the University of California at Berkely in 1982 and traveled to Morocco as a Peace Corp volunteer where he worked as an English teacher.
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Stevens served as U.S. envoy to the Libyan opposition during the February 2011 revolution and was appointed the U.S. Ambassador to Libya after he was appointed on May 22, 2012.
“I was thrilled to watch the Libyan people stand up and demand their rights,” says Stevens in a video posted on YouTube by the State Department. “I’m excited to return to Libya to continue the great work we’ve started, building a solid partnership between the United States and Libya to help you, the Libyan people, achieve your goals.”
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird called the attack senseless while U.S. President Barack Obama also condemned the attacks on the consulate and has ordered increased security at U.S. diplomatic posts around the world.
Stevens is the first U.S. ambassador to be killed in an attack since 1979, when Ambassador Adolph Dubs was killed in Afghanistan.
VIDEO: Introducing U.S. Ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens
– With files from The Associated Press
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