HARARE, Zimbabwe—The government of this southern African nation ordered Libya's ambassador to leave the country within 72 hours after his embassy flew the flag of the rebels who overthrew the regime of Col. Moammar Gadhafi, a longtime friend of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
Zimbabwe's foreign minister said the government would also withdraw its diplomatic staff from rebel-controlled Tripoli.
Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said Libyan Ambassador Taher Elmagrahi had expressed support for the rebel-backed National Transitional Council, or NTC, and recently flew the flag of the group.
Zimbabwe said it was withdrawing the diplomatic status of the ambassador and his embassy staff.
Mr. Elmagrahi said he accepted the decision, and by Tuesday afternoon embassy diplomats were packing to go.
Mr. Mumbengegwi declined to say whether Zimbabwe would offer refuge to Col. Gadhafi, who has gone underground since rebels took Tripoli last week.
The moves reflected President Mugabe's enduring allegiance to Col. Gadhafi. The two are among a dwindling coterie of African leaders who have ruled for more than three decades. Mr. Mugabe has been in power since 1980 and, like his Libyan counterpart, has demonstrated a penchant for lambasting the U.S. and other Western countries.
The two men also developed close, if not always transparent, business ties between their countries. Since Zimbabwe's economy ran into trouble in the 1990s, Libya provided tens of millions of dollars in direct aid and vast quantities in subsidized oil to Zimbabwe, at one point supplying 70% of the country's fuel, according to the U.S. State Department.
Mohammed Elbarat, a senior diplomat at the Libyan Embassy in Harare who was also expelled, said last week that Col. Gadhafi and his sons had signed business deals in Zimbabwe including agriculture, tourism and mining. The contracts weren't made public.
Zimbabwe's position on Libya is in line with a broader African Union stance of not recognizing the rebel government. The organization attempted to broker peace talks between rebels and Col. Gadhafi's regime, but the rebels rejected these overtures.AU member South Africa, also a member of the council, has resisted efforts to release unfrozen Libyan assets for the rebel government.
On Friday, AU representatives meeting in Ethiopia called for a transition process that includes veterans of Col. Gadhafi's government. Zimbabwe is on the AU's 15-member Peace and Security Council, which voted on Friday's decision.Col. Gadhafi was a key figure in the bloc's foundation and led the organization in 2009-2010.
Several African nations, however, have recognized the rebel government, including the continent's most populous country, Nigeria.
—Patrick McGroarty contributed to this article.
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