Over 400 evacuated Lebanese arrive in Beirut from Abidjan

A MEA flight from Abidjan landed in Beirut early Monday morning with 244 Lebanese expatriates fleeing the Ivory Coast on board.

Another plane, leased from Tunisia, arrived at 10:30 am with 160 passengers.

Former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo is now in the custody of forces loyal to Alassane Ouattara . Forces stormed the bunker where Gbagbo hung on to power Monday, arresting the man whose refusal to hand over the presidency to the election winner left hundreds dead and threatened to re-ignite a civil war.

According to local  reports the Abidjan airport should be now safe for landing and takeoff, and MEA could now evacuate any Lebanese expatriates that want to leave the country . Over 6000 applied to leave , but less than 2000 have have been evacuated so far

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 .