Libya protested on Wednesday decision taken by the U.S. to apply tightened security measures in airports on its citizens, Libyan news agency Jana reported.

Libya’s General People’s Committee for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation said it summoned on Wednesday the U.S. ambassador in Tripoli Gene A. Cretz to protest against the measure.

On his part, the U.S. ambassador said the decision does not mean that his country has re-listed Libya among terrorism sponsor countries.

“Not all the countries in the list are terrorism-sponsor countries… The U.S. administration believes there were extremist movements in those countries and it is following up them (the movements) because some of their members might enter the U.S.,” he said.

However, Secretary General of the committee Mousa Kousa said “whatever the explanations he heard (from the ambassador) were,” Libya will apply the reciprocity principle.

If any Libyan citizen was exposed to such kind of treatment, whether inside or outside the United States, Tripoli will apply the same treatment to U.S. citizens coming to the country or staying in it, Kousa said.

In response, the U.S. ambassador asked for some time to hold consultations with the U.S. administration over the issue.

The U.S. decision came after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian, attempted to blow up a jetliner as it approached Detroit from Amsterdam but failed on Christmas Day.

Fourteen countries, including Nigeria, Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, Cuba, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Saudi Arabia and Sudan, were listed by the United States with directives that passengers traveling from these countries to the U.S. by air face extra security screening. Source: (Xinhua)

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