A total of 131 Malaysians have been flown out of Libya via a special chartered aircraft, Tunis Air, to Tunis, Tunisia.
According to a statement released by Malaysian Foreign Affairs Ministry on Friday, the aircraft also evacuated 55 other refugees of other nationalities, including Thai, Filipino, Indonesian, British and Tunisian, who were working for a Malaysia-based construction company in Libya.
The statement said the Malaysians landed in Tunisia were safe, awaiting the next flight to Rome, Italy, via the Malaysian airforce's aircraft.
Malaysian Foreign Affairs Minister Anifah Aman said in the statement that the ministry would continue to monitor the situation in Libya and provide prompt assistance to a few Malaysian students who opted to stay there.
Malaysia's National Security Council secretary, Mohamed Thajudeen Abdul Wahab, was quoted earlier as saying the Royal Malaysian Airforce was given permission and had sent an aircraft to rescue the Malaysians stranded in war-torn Libya.
But the aircraft was denied clearance to touch down when it neared Tripoli, said Thajudeen.