Canadian Warship Leaves for Libya

The HMCS Charlottetown will help evacuate Canadians from conflict-ridden North African country.

The Canadian Forces ship was scheduled to leave Halifax at 10:30 am AT Wednesday on a mission that could include enforcing UN sanctions against Moammar Gadhafi’s regime. The primary goal of the ship’s 240-person crew will be to help evacuate the 100 to 200 Canadians still believed to be in the country, after a Canadian Forces C-17 transport plane was refused permission to land at Libya’s main airport Tuesday. Libya has been engulfed in turmoil since anti-Gadhafi forces seized most of its eastern half last month, but the situation there could have changed dramatically by the time the Charlottetown arrives. The journey is expected to take six of seven days and fighting between pro- and anti-government forces continues to escalate.