Evacuation from a War Zone

Situation

After a serious incident in Libya, the aid organisation concerned decided to evacuate the remaining foreign staff. At that time, there was much fighting in Libya between troops of the UN-recognised government and fighters of the opposing government.

Approach by SmartRiskSolutions

SmartRiskSolutions advised and supported the NGO on the safe repatriation of the staff. As there was no air traffic at the time due to the precarious security situation, the only option was to evacuate by land to Tunisia.

After a detailed risk analysis of locations where active fighting was taking place, a precise assessment of the security situation along the possible routes was carried out. A risk map on combat zones, location of the conflict parties and other relevant information was created. The situation picture was permanently updated with information from security specialists on the ground.

Part of the evacuation planning was that local security personnel would discreetly accompany the two vehicles to the border. Contingency plans were made for possible difficulties during the evacuation, such as a broken down car and the sudden outbreak of new fighting along the route. During the journey, the vehicles were tracked and an analyst followed current reports on the security situation along the route from local social media messages (including Twitter). This person also had permanent contact with our local partner in the field.

Outcome

The international staff members were able to reach the Tunisian border without incident after more than 12 hours of travel. From Tunisia, they continued their journey to their respective home countries. Psychological counselling for the affected staff was provided as a precaution.