South Korea is advising its people in Libya to leave the unrest-hit country, officials said Tuesday, as anti-government protests escalated across the African nation with rioters attacking a string of Korean-run construction sites.

Concern about the safety of about 1,400 South Koreans staying in Libya, most of them construction firm workers, has spiked after a series of South Korean-run construction sites there fell victim to rioting amid fanning anti-government protests.

"Our embassy is advising that those who can leave should leave," a Foreign Ministry official said, adding that nine South Korean workers have already left for Cairo, Egypt. 

"We are also in talks over chartering a plane for evacuation,"
he said.

Officials said that they are discussing with firms operating in Libya ways to get people out of the country amid reported disruptions of operations at the airport in the Libyan capital of Tripoli. Possible options include using ships to Europe or vehicles to nearby Tunisia.

Officials said they were also trying to help South Koreans get exit visas from Libya.

South Korea has already issued the second-highest travel warning for all of Libya, telling its citizens to leave the country unless they are on urgent and unavoidable trips, and cancel or postpone nonessential visits there.

On Monday, three South Korean workers were hurt in a clash with rioters at a construction site near Tripoli. They were the first injuries to South Koreans reported since rioting began last week.

The intruders left six hours later after stealing three vehicles and other items.
   Also Monday, rioters raided a construction site in Zawia near Tripoli, seizing two vehicles and damaging the living quarters of workers. Another site in Khoms, about 100 kilometer east of the capital, was also attacked with intruders stealing three vehicles, cash and laptop computers.

There were two more similar cases of rioting at South Korean-run construction sites on Sunday. 

The latest wave of rioting began last Friday when hundreds of Libyans entered a construction site in Derna in eastern Libya and set fire to buildings. Officials said that the anti-government protests appear to have fueled the rioting, which is believed to have started over discontent of the government's housing policy.

On Monday, South Korea held an interagency meeting to discuss how to cope with the situation. The foreign ministry said after the meeting that the government decided to set up task force teams in Seoul and Libya to oversee safety measures while dispatching a quick response team there.

South Korean ambassador to Libya Jo Dae-sik, who was in Seoul for an annual conference of diplomatic mission chiefs, said that he will cut short his schedule and leave for Libya later Tuesday to oversee safety measures.

"The only thing in my head at the moment is how to protect the lives and properties of our people," Jo told reporters. "I will mobilize everything for that. I will do whatever is necessary."

Jo said he will fly first to Tunisia and use an overland route to Libya.

(Yonhap News)