  
|  | ||||||||||||
U.S., France plan Lebanon evacuationsVoluntary departure of Americans likely to start in a few days
INFORMATION HOTLINESU.S. Embassy in Beirut: (+961) 4-542-600 (+961) 4-543-600 State Department in Washington: 1-202-501-4444 1-888-407-4747 (Call this number toll-free from inside the U.S.) Americans in Lebanon and family members outside Lebanon can obtain more information at www.travel.state.gov BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- France announced plans Sunday to begin evacuating its citizens and other mostly European nationals from Beirut by sea, while U.S. officials said they were planning a large-scale evacuation of Americans from battered Lebanon. Officials at the French Embassy in Beirut said a ferry capable of carrying 1,300 people would leave Cyprus about midnight Sunday (5 p.m. ET) for Beirut. The evacuation will be carried out in coordination with the Israeli navy, which has a blockade of Lebanese ports in place, the embassy said. The ferry could begin taking on passengers Monday afternoon, with other trips planned after that, the embassy reported. (Watch U.S. student trapped in Lebanon -- 1:38 ) Meanwhile, U.S. State Department officials told reporters Sunday that plans have been drawn up -- but not yet finalized -- for the evacuation of Americans from Lebanon, which has been the subject of an Israeli bombing campaign since Wednesday. The State Department began the process Sunday, taking non-essential U.S. Embassy personnel and a few private citizens, Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Maura Harty told reporters. The Americans flown out aboard Marine helicopters included a family of four with a sick child, four students, one person with a medical emergency and a person accompanying the patient, Harty said. 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. Other Western nations were already evacuating citizens. On Sunday, Cyprus' Foreign Ministry said Italian military planes ferried out Spaniards, Italians, Austrians, Czechs and others who had left Lebanon for Syria, according to The Associated Press. A Greek charter flight took 140 passengers to Cyprus, the AP reported. U.S. Embassy stays openU.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. 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. Officials said they expect only about 15 percent of U.S. citizens to evacuate. 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) Jeffrey, the principal deputy assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs, noted that a major anti-U.S. demonstration is planned for next weekend in Damascus. 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. CNN's Chris Burns, Elise Labott and Barbara Starr contributed to this report. Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
|
| ||||||||||||
| © 2007 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. Site Map. |
 |
|
External sites open in new window; not endorsed by CNN.com
Pay service with live and archived video. 
