site.btaGovernment Prepares for Phased Evacuation by Air of Bulgarians from Lebanon

Preparations for the phased evacuation by air of Bulgarian citizens who have declared their wish to leave Lebanon have begun, the press centre of the Council of Ministers said in a press release on Sunday.

Other evacuation options are being considered in parallel. At present, all Bulgarian nationals willing to be evacuated from Lebanon have been identified. They will be informed of the exact time and place of the evacuation directly through the Bulgarian Embassy in Beirut, in coordination with the Situation Centre of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry.

Priority will be given to families with children and vulnerable groups, it was decided at a Sunday meeting convened by caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev at the Council of Ministers, with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Secretariat of the Security Council and the security services. 

Action must be taken quickly, but the main concern is the safety of Bulgarian people, both those who want to evacuate and the teams that will carry out the evacuation, Glavchev was adamant. Deputy Foreign Minister Elena Shekerletova reported on information provided to her by the Bulgarian embassy in Beirut on the dynamically changing situation in Lebanon, the press release said. 

President Rumen Radev has been informed of the actions taken by the Bulgarian government, the Council of Ministers added. 

It was announced Saturday that measures are being taken by the Bulgarian state to remove Bulgarians from Lebanon due to the escalation of the situation in the Middle East. On the instructions of the Prime Minister, a working group was set up in the Foreign Ministry, which includes representatives of other institutions, whose main task is to coordinate and propose the most appropriate option for the removal of Bulgarian nationals and their family members from Lebanon, the Foreign Ministry said.

The Foreign Ministry urged the Bulgarian citizens to stop all travel to the Lebanese Republic and to leave the country immediately. In case of need for assistance, Bulgarian nationals in the Lebanese Republic can contact the Bulgarian diplomatic mission in Beirut at the following number: +961 5 453 658, as well as emergency telephone numbers during non-working hours: +961 81 302 552; +961 76 697 766. Alerts can also be submitted to the Embassy's Consular Service email address: CONSULAR.BEIRUT@MFA.BG.