1000 Lebanese evacuated from Ivory Coast

The number of lebanese expatriates that have been so far evacuated from war torn Ivory Coast has reached 1000 as of Sunday April 10.

The number of Lebanese that have applied at the Lebanese embassy in Abidjan for evacuation is 6000. The remaining 5000will be evacuated as follows:

– MEA will now start a daily flight to Abidgan to pick up evacuees directly from the country

– Another MEA flight will head daily to Accra , Ghana to pick up the evacuees that were transferred from Abidjan to Accra

– 2 charter planes ( one with a capacity of 50 passengers and another with a capacity of 75 passengers ) will be shuttling twice daily between Accra and and Abidjan to pick up passengers from Abidjan and position them in Accra for eventual transfer to Lebanon .

Both Qatar and Iran have offered to help in evacuating the Lebanese , but so far no action has been taking by either country

The Lebanese expatriates in Côte d’Ivoire reportedly came under threat after Lebanon’s ambassador Ali Ajami meddled in the internal affairs of the country by attending the swearing-in ceremony of Laurent Gbagbo, the controversial strongman who has refused to step down despite rival Alassane Ouattara being internationally recognized as having won the country’s elections.

Ajami is reportedly very closely associated with Hezbollah .

There are over 70, 000 Lebanese living in the Ivory coast , mostly from south Lebanon

Caretaker PM Saad Hariri who worked out the agreement with MEA for direct flights to Abidjan addressed the situation of the Lebanese expatriates in Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) last week:

“We have been exerting efforts, together with Lebanon’s friends, to rescue our people in Ivory Coast from the consequences of the foolish political decisions taken without the State’s consent.”

He was referring to Ajami’s siding with Gbagbo, a decision reportedly taken by Hezbollah and Iran, without the approval of the Lebanese government