Some 500 people from 25 countries, together with about 1,200 Turkish citizens, boarded two Turkish army vessels that sailed from Libya on Saturday as part of a large-scale Turkish evacuation operation, the Global Nation Inquirer reports.
The biggest group of foreigners - 208 people - were Vietnamese, the foreign ministry said, adding that nationals of Bosnia, Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Poland, Syria, Tunisia, Jordan and the United States were among the passengers.
The two vessels - a navy ferry and a frigate, which was originally on an escort mission but also took passengers, sailed from the flashpoint city of Benghazi on Saturday morning en route to Marmaris, on Turkey's Mediterranean coast.
Ankara said earlier this week that about 20 countries had requested Turkish help to repatriate nationals caught in the bloody unrest sweeping Libya.
Turkey has brought home about 11,000 Turks since February 19, sending dozens of planes, including military cargo aircraft, and several ferries. It has also transported nationals to neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt by road and then flown them home.
A total of 25,000 Turks were based in Libya prior to the eruption of the deadly unrest last week, mostly employees of Turkish construction companies active in the North African country.
A Turkish worker was shot dead at his construction site near Tripoli and another died of a heart attack amid the unrest.
About 200 Turkish companies are involved in construction projects in Libya worth more than $15 billion.
