New Delhi: India on Tuesday night deplored the use of force by Libyan authorities against anti-government protesters and said it was finalising a 'mammoth' operation to evacuate about 18,000 Indian nationals from the African nation.

"We deplore all the reports of violence that we believe is happening on many streets in Libyan cities. Many lives have been lost and we hope calm can return and peace prevail," Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao told reporters here.

"The government deplores the use of force which is totally unacceptable and must not be resorted to," an External Affairs Ministry statement said. Expressing concern over safety of Indian nationals in Libya, Rao said efforts were being made to finalise arrangements for evacuation of Indians from that country.
"This is going to be quite a mammoth operation. We will have to not only put in place arrangements for aircraft or ships but also obtain permission from Libyan authorities for our aircraft to land there," Rao said after an inter-ministerial meeting to put in place evacuation plans.

She said government plans to put in place the evacuation plans 'as soon as possible'. She said the airport in Benghazi has been damaged in the unrest and was not available for use and efforts were being made to access Tripoli airport.

Rao said a passenger ship that can ferry 1,000 persons has been identified in the Red Sea and directions have been given for it to stay in the vicinity. The ship is expected to evacuate Indian nationals from Libya to the nearest safe point in the neighbouring country.

Rao said the government has identified Alexandria in Egypt as a port of call for ships required for the evacuation exercise.

She also said efforts were on to identify another ship with a similar capacity to ferry passengers from Libya to the nearest safe point. She said Alexandria, being a tourist destination, offers lot of facilities including for docking of passenger ships and operating wide-body aircraft.

Rao, along with other top officials from other ministries concerned, held a meeting to work out the logistics of the evacuation process which has already got a nod from the political leadership. External Affairs Minister S M Krishna has been briefing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about all the contingency plans to ensure safety and security of Indians in Libya.

According to reports, more than 300 people have been killed so far in the brutal crackdown against protesters demanding an end to Muammar Gadhafi's 41-year rule in Libya. The death of an Indian national from Tamil Nadu in Libya meanwhile gave some anxious moments to authorities here but it turned out he died in a road accident and not in firing during the violence as claimed by the family of the deceased Murugaiah.

An External Affairs Ministry spokesman said that according to the Indian Embassy in Tripoli, a group comprising three Indians and two Egyptians were trying to cross over to Egypt by car from Tobruk (a city in north-eastern Libya) on night of February 19 when their car was involved in a head on collision. The three Indians suffered serious injuries.

"They were admitted to Al Vatnam Medical Centre in Tobruk. A number of Indian nurses are now also working at the Centre. Murugaiah reportedly succumbed to his injuries yesterday. The other Indian nationals are still in the hospital and recuperating. The Mission is in regular touch with the Medical Centre," he said.

Indian Ambassador to Libya M Manimekalai has been in touch with the Indian community in Libya and updating the Ministry of External Affairs with the latest development there.