1984 Libyan hostage incident 1984 Libyan hostage incident The Libyan hostage situation began on the morning of the murder of WPC Fletcher, 17 April 1984 and lasted until 5 February 1985 (294 days). In accordance with the hostage release agreement, reporting on the incident was restricted until the fall of Gadaffi in 2011. March 1984 Four Libyan nationals were arrested on charges following explosions at Manchester and Heathrow airports in the UK and were remanded in custody. 17 April 1984 WPC Yvonne Fletcher was hit by a bullet from a burst of machine-gun fire from within the Libyan Peoples' Bureau (Libyan Embassy) in St
Embassy of Libya, London and were not resumed until 1999, whereupon the embassy was moved to its current location in Knightsbridge. The embassy was again the focus of attention in 2011 during the Libyan Civil War. There were several protests in the early part of the year against the Gaddafi government's crackdown on protesters in Benghazi, culminating in the occupation of the embassy's roof and the swapping of the flag with that of the National Transitional Council (now the current Libyan flag). In July of that year the British government expelled the existing embassy staff and formally recognised the NTC as the sole legitimate