A burning car is seen in front of the Russian embassy, as it came under attack in Tripoli on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Russia evacuated embassy staff and their families from Libya yesterday after gunmen tried to storm its diplomatic mission in Tripoli.

The attackers, who dispersed when embassy security guards opened fire, had planned to avenge the murder of a Libyan military officer by a Russian woman living in Tripoli, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

“Relatives and friends of the murdered Libyan decided to avenge his death with an attack on the Russian diplomatic mission,” the statement said.

The decision to evacuate staff was taken after Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdelaziz visited the embassy.

The ministry said he had told the Russian ambassador that Libya was “not in a state to guarantee the security of the Russian embassy and recommended his employees leave the diplomatic mission”.

Incident shows volatility in the oil-producing country

The statement said that staff and their families had taken refuge in safe rooms during the attack. They were evacuated to Tunisia yesterday and are expected to return to Russia today.

The attack demonstrated the volatility in oil-producing Libya two years after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, and the problems faced by his former ally Russia as it tries to put billions of dollars’ worth of energy and arms deals back on track.

The Foreign Ministry and the Kremlin were keen to play down political angles of the attack, citing the murder as the cause.

The Russian woman, who also wounded the officer’s mother, had been arrested, the statement said.

Diplomatic sources in Libya said security guards fired shots to disperse a group of about 60 people who tried to storm the embassy on Wednesday. Russian agencies said the gunmen arrived in two vehicles before opening fire.

The statement sought to underline cooperation by the two countries to re-establish Russia’s full diplomatic presence in Libya and reduce any long-term impact.

Clan and tribal rivalries, as well as Islamist groups, have flourished in the absence of strong central government in Libya. Security services have struggled to maintain order.

Militant groups have staged a number of attacks on Western diplomats. Militants linked to al Qaeda affiliates attacked the US consulate in Benghazi and killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans on September 11, 2012.

“When Gaddafi was in charge, ties (between Libya and Russia) were good. He was buying our weapons and there was talk of a railroad being built,” said Moscow-based analyst Georgy Mirsky.

Russia says it lost billions of dollars in arms deals after the fall of Gaddafi, who was captured and killed in October 2011 after months of civil war. The violence prompted Russian companies, which had pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into Libya’s oil and natural gas sectors, to put their investments on hold.

The attack on the embassy occurred as a Russian delegation was planning to visit Libya to try to put commercial relations back on track, the head of a business council said.

In a sign that the situation may be improving, Tatneft, a mid-sized Russian oil producer, reopened an office in Tripoli earlier this year.  (Reuters )