Stranded Canadians to get lift out of Libya

The federal government announced yesterday that it is sending planes to rescue Canadians stranded in the chaos in Libya.

According to Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, there are over three hundred Canadians currently registered at the embassy in the capital city of Tripoli. Of those, Cannon says ninety-one  have indicated that they want to leave the country.

Canada would share the planes with other “like-minded” countries to evacuate their citizens to cities in Europe. The first plane is expected to land in Tripoli on Thursday.

The announcement came on a day of increased tension in the North African country. Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi refused to step down yesterday, vowing to die as a martyr and encouraging his supporters to attack anti-government protestors.

Gadhafi’s actions have drawn a sharp reprimand from Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Harper condemned Gadhafi’s orders to fire on protestors as unacceptable and outrageous.