A still from Alhurra TV footage shows furniture burning at the site of the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The BBG remains committed to coverage of events in Libya.
Washington, D.C. — The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) today mourned the deaths of U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in an attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, and reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that news and information reach the people of Libya with the support of the United States.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of these four dedicated public servants and extend our heart-felt sympathies to their loved ones,” said BBG Presiding Governor Michael Lynton. “We condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms. At the same time, we cannot allow such violence to shake our commitment to a robust U.S. presence in Libya at this critical time, including that of the BBG’s own personnel who are covering events there,” Lynton added.
The State Department confirmed the deaths of Stevens and Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith. The other two American victims have not yet been publicly identified, pending notification of their families.
The Middle East Broadcasting Networks’ Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa have been on the front lines in covering the fighting in Libya since the uprisings began, and correspondents have come under fire as they sought to provide first-hand accounts.
In May the BBG launched an FM radio transmitter in Tripoli that reaches about two million people. Audiences in Benghazi have heard Radio Sawa programming around the clock since October 2011.
