Nine Spanish businessmen trapped in Tripoli are waiting to return to Spain.

Eight Spanish businessmen and the director of the Tarragona Chamber of Commerce, who were traveling on a trade mission to Tripoli, Libya, were caught in armed clashes between militias and, after being taken to safety at the Spanish embassy, ​​are awaiting their return to Spain.

The nine Spanish businessmen trapped in Tripoli, Libya, due to armed clashes between militias are all safe, sheltered in the embassy, ​​and have no return date to Spain yet .

Tripoli is trying to contain the worst outbreak of violence in a year , which has left at least 12 dead in two days in the capital and is feared to spread across Libya.

The group of businesspeople, who say they are doing well for now, is made up of eight entrepreneurs and the International Director of the Tarragona Chamber of Commerce , the entity that organized this trade mission to explore business opportunities in the North African country, the first in twenty years.

The mission was caught off guard by violent clashes between different armed factions that erupted Monday following the death of a powerful Libyan leader, triggering the worst clashes of the past year in the capital.

At first, they took refuge in their hotel , first in the basement and then in their rooms, and yesterday they were able to move to the embassy, ​​where they spent a good night.

"We have slept in the embassy and are waiting for instructions to see when we can go to the nearest airport, which is Misrata," Marouane Boutami, head of exports for the Madrid-based Catalysis laboratories , told Efe. He is one of nine businesspeople from across Spain participating in this mission.

Boutami assures that everyone is fine and does not feel threatened, as they are not "targets or objectives of the militias."

They have been in constant contact with embassy staff, who gave them security guidelines to stay safe in the hotel: "They told us to stay away from the windows, in case there are stray bullets , because it is a conflict zone fought over by the two militias ," he says.

Yesterday, they were finally evacuated from the hotel and transferred to the embassy . "I would like to express my deepest gratitude and congratulations to the embassy staff for all the work they have done," he acknowledged.

The manager understands that the situation may seem hostile from the outside and that they are in danger, but " it's quite the opposite ." " It's an unexpected event, and the embassy has done everything possible to make us as comfortable as possible. We appreciate how they've treated us," he insists.

Another of the businessmen trapped in Tripoli is Roberto Barros, director of the international affairs department of the Tarragona Chamber of Commerce , who also confirmed that they are all well and do not fear for their lives. What they don't have, for now, is a date for their return to Spain.

"This depends on many circumstances, how the situation evolves, whether airports reopen... But we're fine, I don't see any major problems," he said.

Barros explained yesterday in a video he recorded himself with his cell phone from Libya while they were still trapped in the hotel that at no point did they feel in danger or receive any threats. "We didn't fear for our lives," he said. "There were clashes between the militias and it was a long night (yesterday), but the diplomatic police protected us and the militias didn't come near; they have no interest or any intention of harming us," he said in the video that the Tarragona Chamber of Commerce provided to Efe. According to Barros, the group decided to go down to the basement "to avoid the danger of stray bullets," then went up to their rooms and from there they were taken to the embassy.

" We are awaiting instructions from our embassy, ​​which is moving like a charm , and we are calm and in absolutely no danger . We trust our embassy and look forward to returning home," the executive emphasized.