As Canadians watch the increasingly volatile events in Libya unfold, the federal government called Monday for a halt to the bloody crackdown on protesters by the regime of Moammar Gadhafi.

At a press conference in Vancouver, Prime Minister Stephen Harper denounced the attacks on protesters in the cities of Benghazi and Tripoli that have claimed an estimated 200 lives.

"Let me just be very clear on what is happening in Libya," Harper told reporters. "We find the actions of the government firing upon its own citizens to be outrageous and unacceptable and we call on the government to cease this kind of violence immediately."

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon echoed that sentiment in a statement released earlier in the day.

"Canada strongly condemns the violent crackdowns on innocent protesters that have resulted in many injured and killed," the statement reads. "The Libyan authorities must show restraint and stop the use of lethal force against protesters."

Ottawa has issued a formal travel warning for Libya, advising Canadians not to travel there "due to civil unrest, demonstrations and the potential threat of terrorism in the country."

The Department of Foreign Affairs says there are about 500 Canadian citizens currently in Libya and although there are no plans for an emergency evacuation, "Canadians should consider leaving by commercial means if it is safe to do so," the department said in its travel advisory.

"They should take appropriate steps to increase their personal security (and) contact the Embassy of Canada in Tripoli for assistance and advice."

While the airport is closed in Benghazi, the focal point of the past week's anti-government protests, the airport in the capital of Tripoli is still open.

Cannon said the government is urging the Gadhafi regime to bow to the demonstrators' calls for economic and democratic reforms.

"What is occurring in the Arab world at this time, I think, is a manifestation of the people's desire to see major reforms in terms of their democratic system and their economy," he said in Wakefield, Que.

Meanwhile, Canadian businesses with a presence in the Middle East are preparing their operations and employees in the region for the worst.

A number of Western companies are making plans to pull employees out of Libya, where an estimated 50 Canadians are employed on oilfield projects.

Two Canadian companies, Suncor Energy and engineering firm SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. have operations in the country.

Montreal-based construction firm SNC-Lavalin says that all of its employees in Libya are currently safe, while some projects have been temporarily suspended.

A Suncor spokesperson said earlier Monday that the Calgary-based company has contingency plans in place to ensure the safety of its staff and is monitoring the situation in Libya.

Canadians flee violence

Later in the day, word came out of Libya that three Canadians were among two dozen workers who were forced to flee into the desert after armed rebels attacked the Suncor drilling rig they work on, which is about an hour's flight from Tripoli.

Gary Sutherland of Coldbrook, N.S. said his wife received a call from their son, Glen, as he and his co-workers were preparing to flee on foot. Glen Sutherland, 30, works on the rig as a safety adviser.

Glen told his father the group planned to walk to another camp six kilometres away.

"It was a very quick phone call," Gary Sutherland said during an interview from his home.

"He was very anxious, saying the rig had been ransacked by armed rebels and they were going to go out in the desert ... for safety."

Gary Sutherland said he didn't know if anyone had been injured.

He also said Suncor officials contacted Glen's wife, Cassandra, and told her they were attempting to relocate the workers. Glen later confirmed that Suncor officials sent an email to Cassandra, saying the group had arrived safely at the other rig.

Glen had been scheduled to return home in two days.

According to the federal government's web site, "Canada enjoys good bilateral relations with Libya."

Ottawa opened an embassy in Tripoli in 2004 after the United Nations lifted international sanctions against Libya after Gadhafi agreed to abandon its weapons of mass destruction program in 2003.

The government said that there are currently several hundred Libyans in Canada on student visas.

With files from The Canadian Press