Washington, U.S.A. – The U.S. ambassador in Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other employees of the diplomatic mission of the United States have died after being attacked on Tuesday, in the city of Benghazi as reported on Wednesday the Interior Ministry from Libya.

Hillary Rodham Clinton made an statement condemning the violent act:

It is with profound sadness that I share the news of the death of four American personnel in Benghazi, Libya yesterday. Among them were United States Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and Foreign Service Information Management Officer, Sean Smith. We are still making next of kin notifications for the other two individuals. Our hearts go out to all their families and colleagues.

A 21 year veteran of the Foreign Service, Ambassador Stevens died last night from injuries he sustained in the attack on our office in Benghazi.

I had the privilege of swearing in Chris for his post in Libya only a few months ago. He spoke eloquently about his passion for service, for diplomacy and for the Libyan people. This assignment was only the latest in his more than two decades of dedication to advancing closer ties with the people of the Middle East and North Africa which began as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco. As the conflict in Libya unfolded, Chris was one of the first Americans on the ground in Benghazi. He risked his own life to lend the Libyan people a helping hand to build the foundation for a new, free nation. He spent every day since helping to finish the work that he started. Chris was committed to advancing America’s values and interests, even when that meant putting himself in danger.

Sean Smith was a husband and a father of two, who joined the Department ten years ago. Like Chris, Sean was one of our best. Prior to arriving in Benghazi, he served in Baghdad, Pretoria, Montreal, and most recently The Hague.

All the Americans we lost in yesterday’s attacks made the ultimate sacrifice. We condemn this vicious and violent attack that took their lives, which they had committed to helping the Libyan people reach for a better future.

Image Courtesy of   Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The article Hillary Clinton’s Statement on the Death of US Ambassador in Libya appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

On a 15 meter-long boat landed on the island of Lampedusa, southern Italy, the Italian coastguards found 25 bodies of dead migrants coming from Libya.

According to Reuters news agency on board were 296 people, including 36 women and 21 children. They are all refugees fleeing from Sub Saharan Africa.

The 25 bodies were found in the engine room of the boat during a rescue operation a mile away from Lampedusa. The victims were all men except of one woman, and most of them were young. They

During last night, when the boat was around 35 miles off Lampedusa, the coastguards got a call from the mobile phone of one of the migrants on board. The bodies were no mentioned in the call and the rescuers couldn’t imagine what was to be discovered in the hold. From the first reconstructions of the events the 25 victims seem to be dead of asphyxiation by the engine fumes.

The only access for the engine room was a 50 centimeters wide trapdoor. The space was insufficient for all those passengers, and the gas from the engine made the hold’s air unbreathable.

The corpses were already in state of decomposition, for this reason investigators believe that the migrants died in international waters.

Doctor Pietro Bartolo said to reporters “Given the state in which the corpses were found, they could have been dead for at least 48 hours”.

A survivor told also that another man was dropped overboard, some sources reported he was already dead, others that he was still alive.

Italian police keeps on questioning the survivors and the corpses will be subjected to postmortem examination to understand  the real causes of death. The boat is under sequestration and an inquiry has been set up.

Another tragedy in the way of the hope to Lampedusa Island, the gate of Europe for the North African refugees.

The article Italy, 25 Dead Migrants Found on a Boat Near Lampedusa appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.