Possible U.K. evac from Lebanon

Israeli air strike kills 8 Canadians in Lebanon
Last Updated Sun, 16 Jul 2006 15:00:15 EDT
CBC News

Eight Canadians were killed and six others seriously wounded in an Israeli air raid that hit a Lebanese town on the border with Israel on Sunday, Ottawa says.

Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Mackay says the government will help Canadians who want to leave Lebanon. (Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press) Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Mackay says the government will help Canadians who want to leave Lebanon. (Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said the wounded Canadians were in critical condition after the town of Aitaroun was hit in the fifth day of fighting between the Israeli military and the Lebanese-based militant organization Hezbollah.

The victims were not immediately identified.

Lebanese TV reports said some of the victims were from the same family and had come from Canada to spend the summer holidays in Aitaroun.

Ottawa sends vessels to help evacuation

Ottawa is sending in commercial vessels to help any Canadian citizen who wishes to leave Lebanon, MacKay said.

"We are securing these vessels. They will be in the region as soon as humanly possible," he told CBC Newsworld.

The Foreign Affairs Department says 16,000 Canadians have registered with the government to say they're in Lebanon, while estimating that there are likely two to three times that many in the country.

On Sunday, for the first time since fighting began, Israeli warplanes unleashed bombs on central Beirut, as well as pounding its suburbs and striking a major power station nearby.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah — which spurred the outbreak of violence with a cross-border raid on the Israeli military — carried out a deadly rocket attack on the northern Israeli port of Haifa.

About 130 Lebanese, most of them civilians have died since the violence erupted on Wednesday. At least 24 Israelis, including 12 civilians, have died from Hezbollah rockets.

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tphuang said:

Of course, the Canadian government's current response is for Canadians to report themselves to the embassy. perfect, what they are going to do after that?

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Finn McCool said:

Couldn't Canadians hitch a ride on military helicopter from so other country?
"Help me! I'm from a ***** 1st world country! I'm not supposed to be in situations like this!" He he...:nana:

With most of Lebanons infrastructure destroyed, what are people supposed to do? Say the are not in Beirut. how do they get there to wherever the evac points are? Are they going to send helicopters and planes to other cities? I think helicopters will be the only way to get people out of Lebanon itself, as the only real airport, Beirut International, has a cratered runway and is destroyed.

Does the UK intend to send the Marines in to safeguard the area when they evacuate ther citizens? That probably isn't a good idea. Putting guns into the situation makes them a target.

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grahamsh said:

What is building here is a number of independent national "service protected evacutions", to use the British term. The British system - I assume other western nations are similar - is that when you live abroad if you register with your embassy/consulate you are on the lists of people they will ATTEMPT to locate and remove in the event of the local security situation going pear-shaped - although it is not a GUARANTEE (if one decides to travel, live or work in places with less-than-perfect security situations you need to take such risks into account). Contingency plans exist for all countries. In UK case, Royal Marines and/or Paras are the usual "protectors", hence movement of Illustrous and Bulwark. The UK "spearhead" infantry battalion (the one held at very short notice to move for short-term crises) would probably be involved too and might be flown.

Mind you, if individuals can make their own way out, circumstances permitting (I am not clear what land routes out of the country are open, for example), they are encouraged to do so...that reduces the burden for the SPE effort.

UK troops in these circumstances would have orders/rules of engagement to defend the civilians they are extracting, but not to actively get involved in the internal conflict. Not an easy call, of course...but if Hezbollah tried to stop such ops, they'd get "a robust response".

I am not sure what the UK, US or French attitude is to extracting nationals of other, friendly countries. "Get on the bird and we will worry about it later", one would hope. However, the arrangements are supposed to be nation-by-nation.

The main problem planners will face is the damage to the airport, as civilian aircraft are the only way to get large numbers of folks out fast. An option - if road routes exist - would to to move folk by road, under appropriate protection, to a neighbouring, then out by air. No doubt much thought is being applied to the problem as we speak. This will not be an easy one, if it comes to it.

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I am not sure what the UK, US or French attitude is to extracting nationals of other, friendly countries. "Get on the bird and we will worry about it later", one would hope. However, the arrangements are supposed to be nation-by-nation.

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SampanViking said:

A potentially interesting situation for Europeans then. Technically we are all citizens of the EU and that would suggest a not unreasonable expectation of assistance from the armed forces of all and any other EU member state.

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grahamsh said:

Interesting point ! I suspect as it is a foreign policy/defence matter it may be reserved to nations and thus not relevant...but I am out of touch with detail. However, no-one apart from Uk and France has the appropriate assets to do it.

As for border crossings, such issues can be resolved by close contact between evacuating nation's forces and the Israelis....one hopes.

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