Canada expels remaining Libyan diplomats: have 5 days to leave the country

OTTAWA – Ottawa is expelling all remaining Libyan diplomats from the country, a move aimed at further isolating the regime of Moammar Gadhafi.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird says in a statement that Canada has declared the diplomats persona non grata, effective immediately.

Baird calls the decision the latest step in Canada’s efforts to delegitimize the Gadhafi regime.

The diplomats have five business days to vacate the Libyan Embassy in Ottawa and leave the country.

Baird says the government is also cutting off the diplomats’ access to the embassy’s bank accounts.

Canada is part of the NATO mission enforcing a UN-sanctioned no-fly zone over Libya that aims to protect the North African country’s citizens from attacks by Gadhafi’s forces.

Baird visited the Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi in June to meet with members of the National Transitional Council, a collection of mainly lawyers and academics.

Canada and other western countries, including Britain and the United States, recognizes the NTC as the legitimate representatives of the Libyan people.

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