BANGKOK, 24 February 2011 (NNT) – The government will urgently assist all Thai people residing in both Libya and New Zealand, according to Deputy Secretary General to the Prime Minister and Acting Government Spokesperson Dr Panitan Wattanayagorn.

Dr Panitan stated that both the Royal Thai Air Force and Thai Airways International are currently ready to help evacuate Thai labourers from Libya back to the country. The government has asked Thai embassies in Athens, Greece and Rome, Italy to coordinated with authorities in those cities to exempt visa checks upon their arrivals, he noted.

Violence in Libya has erupted after a group of protesters started marching against their leader, Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi. The Libyan authorities have resorted to using violent crackdown to quell the anti-government demonstrators, causing over 300 fatalities, as confirmed by the Human Rights Watch.

NNT