Canadian PM flies to Cyprus to help evacuate nationals
Wed Jul 19, 12:48 PM ET
PARIS (AFP) - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is headed to
Cyprus, where thousands of Lebanese-Canadians fleeing violence in
Lebanon will arrive soon, he said in Paris.
He was due to land in Cyprus later in the day to pick up his
nationals who are being taken by sea from Lebanon, officials
said.
"The prime minister is expected to arrive at 11:00pm local time
(2000GMT) at Larnaca airport and stay overnight," a Canadian
diplomatic source in Nicosia told AFP.
He was expected to arrive on a Canadian Forces Airbus to pick an
unspecified number of Canadians evacuated from Lebanon.
A Canadian-chartered ferry, Blue Dawn, was expected to dock at
Larnaca port at around 6.30am (0330GMT) Thursday, although because
of sea traffic out of Lebanon arrival times are frequently
changing, according to consular officials.
"I was originally scheduled to return to Ottawa from Paris tonight.
Because of the seriousness of the situation and our relative
proximity to Cyprus, I've decided to take the Canadian Forces
aircraft we've been travelling on to help airlift evacuees back
home," Harper told reporters.
The jet will have a skeleton crew to free up about 120 seats for
evacuees, he said.
"This action in and of itself will not resolve the many challenges
faced by the thousands of Canadians who may want to leave Lebanon.
But it allows us to do what we can with what we have to ensure the
safe and secure return of Canadians."
Hundreds of Canadians desperate to get out of Lebanon mobbed the
gates of a Beirut exhibition centre being used as an evacuation
staging area Wednesday, furious at the slow pace of their
rescue.
Some 40,000 to 50,000 Canadians live in Lebanon, of whom at least
8,000 are believed to want to escape the week-old bombardment
launched after the capture of two Israeli soldiers.
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Now, this is what I call leadership. 
