Mass evacuation from Lebanon to Cyprus gathers speed

An Israeli soldier talks on his radio as tanks and armoured personnel carriers prepare to enter southern Lebanon from a position located along the Israeli-Lebanese border yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

Cypriot Foreign Minister Georgios Lillikas, inspecting a French-chartered boat in Larnaca port that had just brought in 1,200 people, said he expected many more evacuees to arrive on the tiny holiday island, straining its limited resources.

"We expect the number to triple in the coming days. There are more than 60,000 to 70,000 to be evacuated through Cyprus," he said as he toured the Iera Petra with Catherine Colonna, France's minister for European affairs.

Colonna praised Cyprus's handling of the crisis.

"Things are moving as smoothly as possible... I think the situation here is really under control," Colonna said.

Asked about Cyprus's appeal for help from its European Union partners in moving evacuees home, she said: "I hope the answer is swift and positive ... This is an enormous burden on Cyprus."

Conditions on the boat were cramped, with people lying on sheets on the floor. Long queues had formed outside the toilets.

Officials said the French humanitarian agency Medecins Sans Frontieres planned to send 60 metric tons of emergency aid through Cyprus to Lebanon.