Foreign Ministry Delegation Begins Flying Lebanese Expatriates to Accra ahead of Returning them to Lebanon

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry delegation, headed by foreign ministry director general Haitham Joumaa, began on Saturday evacuating Lebanese expatriates in the Ivory Coast from Abidjan airport to the airport in Ghana’s capital Accra.

Joumaa informed the National News Agency in a telephone call from Abidjan airport that a Boeing 737 has been rented to transport 200 passengers to Accra over a two-phase operation.

He also voiced a hope that Middle East Airlines would begin landing its planes in Abidjan airport after an Air France plane landed there earlier in the day.

He revealed that some 12,000 Lebanese expatriates are seeking to flee the Ivory Coast.

The foreign ministry delegation arrived in Abidjan on Saturday from Accra to transport Lebanese expatriates from the Ivory Coast capital to Ghana and then to Beirut.

Upon arrival, the delegation contacted the diplomatic missions of states neighboring the Ivory Coast that are involved in the evacuation of Lebanese expatriates.

Joumaa met with a number of Lebanese expatriates who arrived in Accra, assuring them of the Lebanon's keenness on ensuring their security and safe return to their homeland.

Earlier on Saturday, a Middle East Airlines plane arrived in Beirut from Accra with 227 Lebanese expatriates onboard, including 55 children.

The airlines have scheduled further flights to Accra in the upcoming hours.