British embassy in Libya faces “potential threat”

The British embassy in the Libyan capital of Tripoli might be facing a threat, officials announced.

"We are aware of reports of a potential threat against the British embassy in Tripoli and we are liaising closely with the Libyan government," the UK Foreign Office  told the Daily Telegraph.

The warning comes as Westerners are increasingly worried about their safety in Libya. Four days ago, the British government urged Britons to leave the Libyan city of Benghazi immediately. Germany and Netherlands also told their citizens to leave Benghazi. 

Libyan officials however are objecting to the warnings. They say they are not aware of any reports of threats. "The British embassy has not informed us of any threats towards it and there has been no coordination between us," Omar al-Khadrawi, the deputy interior minister, told Reuters.

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Libya remains unstable following its 2011 civil war, and Britain has since advised that its citizens avoid traveling to Tripoli, the Associated Press reported. 

In September, the US ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, was among four Americans killed in an attack on the American consulate in Benghazi. Britain has not had a diplomatic presence in Benghazi since that attack, BBC News reported. 

The safety warnings also come two weeks after militants took over a gas plant in neighboring Algeria. UK's Foreign Office estimates that six UK nationals died in the siege, the BBC said. UK's Foreign Office also warns that the French military intervention in Mali could spark "a possibility of retaliatory attacks targeting Western interests in the region."