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26 February 2011
Last updated at 13:55 ET
Two RAF Hercules have rescued about 150 workers from the Libyan desert.
The planes, carrying Britons and other foreign nationals, have reached Malta.
The last government-chartered flight on which Britons could escape has left Tripoli and the British embassy there has suspended operations, as protests against Col Gaddafi's regime continue.
However, it is understood that some 300 British citizens remain in desert camps in Libya and a Royal Navy frigate is heading to Benghazi to help them leave.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox said: "I can confirm that two RAF C130 Hercules aircraft have evacuated around 150 civilians from desert locations south of Benghazi.
"HMS Cumberland is on her way back to Benghazi to evacuate any remaining entitled persons from there.
"HMS York has arrived in Valletta to take on board stores so it can assist the evacuation effort if required. And a number of other military assets remain available to support the FCO led efforts to return civilians from Libya."
Complex BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said the "extremely complex" operation took days to plan.
He said: "It was not just oil workers in one camp. They had to deal with several different locations and a number of heavily armed people."
A statement from the Foreign Office said the planes had been met by a team of consular officials and Red Cross staff in Valletta.
"Once disembarked, the passengers will be given food and water and offered full consular assistance at the airport. This includes immigration processing and a medical. They will then be bussed to hotels, where they will stay overnight. "
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Britons returning to UK: "Our camp was raided by a marauding gang"
"They will return to the UK tomorrow or Monday on a FCO-chartered plane."
Britons who had managed to reach Benghazi and leave Libya on HMS Cumberland have arrived at Gatwick airport.
Alan Burnett, a surveyor, said: "We went through a horrific time. Our camp was raided by a marauding gang. If it wasn't nailed down they were taking it, laptops, whatever.
"You couldn't argue with five or six people with machetes. I'm not going to criticise the government, they may have been late but the response when it happened was excellent."
Paul Ellis, an engineer, said the camp that he lived on "was just ransacked and anything of any value was just taken, like laptops and phones. I was quite lucky they didn't take mine.
"One night groups of young Libyans came with knives.
"We went to a building and a lady looked after us. And every time they tried to break the door down she answered it and they went away, probably for religious reasons."
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The planes, carrying Britons and other foreign nationals, have reached Malta.
The last government-chartered flight on which Britons could escape has left Tripoli and the British embassy there has suspended operations, as protests against Col Gaddafi's regime continue.
However, it is understood that some 300 British citizens remain in desert camps in Libya and a Royal Navy frigate is heading to Benghazi to help them leave.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox said: "I can confirm that two RAF C130 Hercules aircraft have evacuated around 150 civilians from desert locations south of Benghazi.
"HMS Cumberland is on her way back to Benghazi to evacuate any remaining entitled persons from there.
"HMS York has arrived in Valletta to take on board stores so it can assist the evacuation effort if required. And a number of other military assets remain available to support the FCO led efforts to return civilians from Libya."
Complex BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said the "extremely complex" operation took days to plan.
He said: "It was not just oil workers in one camp. They had to deal with several different locations and a number of heavily armed people."
A statement from the Foreign Office said the planes had been met by a team of consular officials and Red Cross staff in Valletta.
"Once disembarked, the passengers will be given food and water and offered full consular assistance at the airport. This includes immigration processing and a medical. They will then be bussed to hotels, where they will stay overnight. "
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.Britons returning to UK: "Our camp was raided by a marauding gang"
"They will return to the UK tomorrow or Monday on a FCO-chartered plane."
Britons who had managed to reach Benghazi and leave Libya on HMS Cumberland have arrived at Gatwick airport.
Alan Burnett, a surveyor, said: "We went through a horrific time. Our camp was raided by a marauding gang. If it wasn't nailed down they were taking it, laptops, whatever.
"You couldn't argue with five or six people with machetes. I'm not going to criticise the government, they may have been late but the response when it happened was excellent."
Paul Ellis, an engineer, said the camp that he lived on "was just ransacked and anything of any value was just taken, like laptops and phones. I was quite lucky they didn't take mine.
"One night groups of young Libyans came with knives.
"We went to a building and a lady looked after us. And every time they tried to break the door down she answered it and they went away, probably for religious reasons."
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