Official Statements

First Convoy of Sri Lankans Leaves Lebanon

The first IOM convoy of Sri Lankan nationals being evacuated from
Lebanon has left Beirut today for the Syrian capital, Damascus.




About 120 Sri Lankans out of 300 registered for urgent evacuation
boarded three buses at the Sri Lankan embassy in the Lebanese
capital. The buses, escorted by IOM staff, are expected to cross
the border with Syria later today where they will be met by IOM
staff from Damascus including a medical doctor.



Another convoy of IOM-chartered buses is scheduled to transport the
remainder of the group early tomorrow, 21 July.



The vast majority of those being evacuated are single women
employed as domestic workers. Most of them did not have travel
documents and have had new papers made up for them. Upon arrival,
the evacuees will overnight in Damascus before flying home to Sri
Lanka on Friday on board an Air Lanka plane.



Some of the group being evacuated today have been living in a
shelter in the compound of the Sri Lankan embassy. The embassy is
close to a Lebanese military base which has been bombarded. Others
have been living in a Caritas shelter near a church dependent on
humanitarian assistance.



There are up to 90,000 Sri Lankan nationals in Lebanon with the
embassy now reporting that at least 5,000 of its nationals have
asked to be evacuated.



Although IOM is able to assist the 300 Sri Lankans, the
Organization is urgently seeking funds to assist other groups of
stranded migrants, many of whom are from distant lands.
Repatriation, the only option for them, will require expensive air
transport.



Other governments asking IOM for assistance to evacuate their
nationals include Ghana, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Moldova and
Iraq with IOM also being made aware of groups of Ethiopians and
other nationalities who are stranded.



This includes those at the Syrian border with Lebanon. An IOM
assessment of the situation at the border point of Dabouseya found
that 800 Sudanese, 500 Egyptians, 100 Iraqis and individuals from
various other nationalities had crossed over from Lebanon in recent
days.



Many of those at the border don’t have any travel documents
or any money to continue further, while some Sudanese are currently
camping out in no-mans land at the border point.



The escalating crisis in the Lebanon is making it increasingly
difficult for individuals from developing countries to leave as
transport costs spiral upwards or because they were left behind
without papers by sponsors or employers who have themselves sought
refuge in neighbouring countries.



Large numbers of Lebanese, Palestinians and other Arab nationals
are also crossing into Syria, according to border officials.



For further information, please contact:



Jemini Pandya

IOM Geneva

Tel: + 41 22 717 9486/Mobile: + 41 79 217 3374

E-mail: "mailto:jpandya@iom.int" target="_blank" title=
"">jpandya@iom.int



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