Foreigners leave Lebanon, operations wind down

Larnaca (Cyprus), Jul 24: A mass evacuation of foreign nationals fleeing Israeli bombing of Lebanon began winding down today as the latest of around 30,000 people to leave reached Cyprus and Turkey.

Britain and the United States said they were scaling back their evacuations after 15 ships brought more exhausted evacuees to the Mediterranean island in one of its busiest nights since Israel air strikes on Lebanon.

Several hundred Australians and Canadians also arrived at the Turkish port of Mersin, after Turkey stepped in to share the burden with Cyprus, which is struggling to cope with the influx in the middle of its tourist season.

''When they bombed the airport we heard it as though it was next door and we saw the clouds come up. We have two babies, so it was impossible to stay there,'' said middle-aged Canadian Robert Daudelin from Montreal, after arriving at Mersin.

''Leaving Beirut was much tougher because families including ours were being split and people were crying, people weren't sure if it was the right move to leave,'' Daudelin said.

US officials said over 12,000 Americans had now left Lebanon and another 1,000 were expected to leave today, as numbers of those lining up to leave dwindled.

''The US embassy believes that most American citizens who wished to depart Lebanon with U.S. government assistance have already departed,'' the embassy in Beirut said in a statement.

Authorities in Cyprus, which has received most evacuees, have warned tens of thousands more may come if the violence in Lebanon escalates.

About 5,000 Americans were being hosted on the island, awaiting flights home. An estimated 5,000 British evacuees passing through the British air force base at Akrotiri in southern Cyprus were swiftly processed and flown home. Britain said it was wrapping up evacuations by boat yesterday.

REUTERS