The Turkish embassy announced plans for an evacuation of its nationals wishing to leave Tripoli. Meanwhile, the Government of National Unity (GNU) was forced to deny rumours that it had requested diplomatic missions to evacuate the city, with the EU Delegation stressing on 16 May that it remains in Tripoli and fully operational. Having only recently relaxed its travel advice, the UK government on 13 May updated it to advising ‘against all travel to Tripoli’ in the wake of the clashes.
Late in the evening of 16 May, a first plane arrived at Istanbul airport evacuating Turkish nationals and company representatives from Tripoli.