Nations call in military to get their citizens out of Lebanon
Germany evacuated more than 100 of its citizens just hours before Israeli forces entered Lebanon, with other Western countries scrambling to get their nationals to safety.
Germany evacuated more than 100 of its citizens just hours before Israeli forces entered Lebanon, with other Western countries scrambling to get their nationals to safety.
Berlin ordered all non-essential embassy staff, their dependants and some of citizens with medical conditions to leave on a German Air Force A321 plane.
A German government spokesman said that “we are currently at a stage where we support the departure (of citizens) but we are explicitly not in an evacuation scenario”.
The move was followed by an announcement by Britain that it had chartered a commercial flight for its nationals wishing to leave.
“The situation in Lebanon is volatile and has potential to deteriorate quickly,” Foreign Secretary David Lammy said. “The safety of British nationals in Lebanon continues to be our utmost priority.”
Last week, London announced the deployment of 700 soldiers to Cyprus to prepare for a possible evacuation of its citizens from Lebanon, while many airlines have suspended flights to and from Beirut.
Canada said it had reserved 800 seats on commercial flights to evacuate its citizens.
“The security situation in Lebanon is becoming increasingly dangerous and volatile,” Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said. “If you are a Canadian citizen in Lebanon, you must leave now.”
About 45,000 Canadians are believed to be in Lebanon.
Japan has sent military planes to evacuate its citizens.
“We’re currently checking the safety of Japanese citizens living in Lebanon, as well as urging them to leave,” chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said.
The defence ministry said C-2 transport aircraft had been ordered to go to Jordan and Greece to be on stand-by.
The Philippines had said it would evacuate 11,000 citizens the moment Israeli forces crossed the border. “A ground invasion will lead to mandatory repatriation,” Foreign Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said, adding the plan was to move thousands out of the country by sea.
Manila had earlier urged Filipinos to leave Lebanon before airlines stopped flying to Beirut but most of its citizens did not heed the call, Filipino diplomats said.
Millions of Filipinos work overseas – with large numbers concentrated in the Middle East – due to limited job opportunities at home. About 90 per cent of those in Lebanon are women domestic workers.
Filipino ambassador to Beirut Raymond Balatbat said 196 Filipinos had fled southern Lebanon.
Most Filipinos working in the country are based in central Lebanon around Beirut, he added.
Anthony Mandap, consul-general at the Philippine embassy in Tel Aviv, said there are no plans to repatriate some 30,000 Filipinos working in Israel.
AFP
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