#67 Postby Janice » Mon Jul 17, 2006 10:44 am
BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- A U.S. military helicopter was scheduled to remove another few dozen U.S. citizens from Beirut on Monday as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants continues, State Department officials said.
European nations were also taking actions to evacuate their citizens.
On Sunday, 21 Americans were flown to Cyprus, a State Department official said.
Those to be evacuated are priority cases, the official said, including people who are ill, some elderly and some unaccompanied children.
Officials estimate that about 15 percent of the roughly 25,000 Americans in Lebanon will evacuate. (Watch U.S. student trapped in Lebanon -- 1:38 )
A bus filled with German tourists left a hotel in Beirut on Monday, hoping to make it to the Syrian border.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said two ships were on the way to Lebanon to evacuate British citizens. A British helicopter with 40 people on board left Lebanon Monday en route to Cyprus, according to George Stylianou, a spokesman for the British Embassy.
He said those on the flight include children and the elderly, and said there could be another flight later in the day.
France dispatched a ferry from Cyprus late Sunday to help evacuate 1,250 foreign nationals to Cyprus.
According to the French Foreign Ministry, the ship will carry 800 French, 300 of them children, and 400 nationals from Germany, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Spain, Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland. Another 50 spots will be reserved for Americans.
The French will be flown Tuesday from Cyprus to Paris.
An Italian vessel is also expected to dock in the Cypriot port of Larnaca later Monday, carrying people it evacuated from Beirut, port officials said.
The Americans flown out aboard Marine helicopters on Sunday included a family of four with a sick child, four students, one person with a medical emergency and a person accompanying the patient, said Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Maura Harty.
Harty said the plan over the next several days, once a safe route has been found, is to send Americans first to Cyprus. From there, Americans would be assisted in finding commercial or charter flights elsewhere, she said.
Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay said Ottawa is doing "everything possible" to evacuate the estimated 40,000 Canadians in Lebanon. Eight Canadians were reported killed and six more were critically wounded in Lebanon Sunday, he said.
The foreign ministry warned Canadians in Lebanon to remain indoors "and limit your movement as much as possible" amid the airstrikes and shelling.
MacKay said his government was working with allied countries to line up commercial ships and arrange safe passage through the Israeli blockade to get their citizens out.
"We'll be working closely with the British, Americans and French, who have similar challenges as far as their citizens inside Lebanon," he told Canadian broadcaster CTV.
U.S. Embassy urges Americans to register
U.S. officials said they want Americans seeking to leave Lebanon to register through the State Department either via its Web site or by calling (888) 407-4747.
Family members outside of Lebanon may register family members stranded in Lebanon who do not have access to the internet or fax machines or who are having difficulty reaching the U.S. Embassy by phone, the State Department said.
The elderly, unaccompanied minors, students and people with medical needs or whose medication is running out will receive priority attention, they said.
The officials urged Americans to move to safe locations until the State Department notifies them via e-mail or the news media that departure plans have been completed.
Harty said the officials rejected plans to take U.S. nationals out of Lebanon by land -- something already completed by some European countries -- because those plans were deemed too dangerous.
The officials added that they have received anecdotal reports that some Americans were denied passage to Syria, even though the Syrian government had said they would be able to cross the border unimpeded.
About 800 American visitors of the 25,000 Americans estimated to be in Lebanon have registered with the embassy, Harty said. Many of them are dual nationals who make Lebanon their home.
Though Americans choosing to depart for Cyprus would be responsible for paying any fares from the island to their final destination, the officials said "repatriation loans" would be made available for those without sufficient funds.
State Department official James Jeffrey said an argument against Americans going into Syria was that "there is at least a theoretical possibility" that Syria could wind up being involved in the violence. (Watch people flee danger in Lebanon -- 1:41)
The U.S. Embassy in Beirut remains fully operational and will continue to be after the evacuation, they said.
Officials said the ambassador's office will be open, and political, security and consular services will continue but may be short-staffed. Departures of U.S. personnel would be voluntary, the officials said.
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