UPI en Español  |   UPI Asia  |   About UPI  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Russia evacuating citizens from Syria

|
 
Published: Jan. 21, 2013 at 5:42 PM

MOSCOW, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Russia Monday dispatched two planes to evacuate Russian citizens from Syria, the Emergencies Ministry said.

"On instructions from the Russian government, the emergencies ministry will send two planes -- an Il-76 and a Yak-42 -- to [the Lebanese capital of] Beirut so that Russians could leave Syria," said Irina Rossius , a spokeswoman for the Emergencies Ministry.

Each plane can carry about 100 people, RIA Novosti reported.

Though the Russian Embassy in Damascus remains open, the country's Consulate General in Aleppo was closed last week amid fighting between insurgents and government forces, Novosti noted.

Recommended Stories
© 2013 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
'Star Trek Into Darkness' screening NBC upfronts Met Ball 2013
'Great Gatsby' premieres in New York Spire raised on top of One WTC 2013: Celebrity break ups and divorces
Additional World News Stories
1 of 18
Palestinian  Security Forces Patrol the Border With Egypt.
View Caption
A members of the Hamas security forces patrol the border area between Gaza and Egypt, in the southern Gaza Strip May 20, 2013. Egyptian police angered by the kidnapping of seven colleagues by Islamist gunmen kept a crossing into the Gaza Strip closed again for four days, stranding hundreds of Palestinian travellers, As Tunnels between Egypt and Gaza closed and border was declared as military zone. Palestinian security forces patrol around the border, witnesses said. UPI/Ismael Mohamad
fark
Bomb shelters of the rich and famous
News: Canadian climbs Mount Everest. FARK: Double amputee conquers Mount Everest
Part-time model addicted to tanning in sun beds, admits she suffers from low-self esteem and tans...
Licensed volunteer wildlife rehabilitators help nurse animals back to health so they can reenter...
Oklahoma tornado thread #3. LGT live updates/streaming
██ ████ to know if ███ ██████████ ██ ███████...