South Korea, Spain, Germany among countries ramping up evacuation plans in Middle East
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South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said the safety of South Koreans in the region is the top priority and all necessary measures must be taken.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SEOUL/MADRID/BERLIN – Many countries have ramped up evacuation plans and warnings in the Middle East as Israel launched ground raids into Lebanon and Iran fired missiles at Israel.
In South Korea, the country’s president Yoon Suk-yeol on Oct 2 ordered military aircraft to be deployed to evacuate South Koreans in Israel and other parts of the Middle East, while its Foreign Ministry urged South Koreans in Israel and Lebanon to immediately leave by any means available.
Mr Yoon met his national security and economic advisers over the Middle East conflict, and called for a swift but measured response to any impact on the country’s energy supply, trade and supply chains, his office said.
Meanwhile, Spain plans to send two military aircraft to evacuate as many as 350 citizens from Lebanon as early as Oct 3.
Germany, which has already evacuated non-essential staff, families of embassy workers and medically vulnerable citizens from Lebanon, has urged its nationals to leave Iran.
Responding to a request from the Cypriot Defence Minister to help evacuate the country’s nationals from Lebanon, Greece will lend military aircraft to the European Union member state closest to the Middle East.
Cyprus has fully activated a mechanism to allow third-country nationals evacuating the Middle East safe passage through the island as the crisis in the region worsens, government officials said on Oct 2.
One country has sought Cyprus’ assistance for the evacuation of civilians.
Cypriot authorities had offered facilities to nine other countries in assisting smaller groups of people to leave.
Close to 60,000 people from Lebanon were evacuated through Cyprus in 2006, during the last large-scale conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Others have chartered aircraft as the airport in Beirut remains open.
Canada has reserved 800 seats on commercial planes to evacuate its citizens from Lebanon, with the military setting up emergency resources in Cyprus if commercial flights are interrupted.
Thousands of people are expected to leave Lebanon.
More than 200 Chinese citizens were safely evacuated from Lebanon by the government, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported on Oct 2.
Israel was hit on Oct 1 evening by rockets launched from Iran following a ground incursion of the Israeli armed forces into south Lebanon, where they clashed with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
The operation followed intense air strikes that have devastated Hezbollah’s leadership, including long-time chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in Beirut last week. REUTERS, AFP
