A drug counsellor from the north-east of England trapped in Lebanon by Israeli air strikes has said she fears for her life.

Clair Vainola, 31, from Newcastle, has been working in the capital Beirut since last November.

 

She said she was just sitting in a hotel and waiting, and had heard nothing from the British government.

 

The Foreign Office has urged British citizens to keep a low profile and warned against travelling there.

 

The Israeli offensive began after the militant group Hezbollah seized two Israeli soldiers.

 

More than 70 Lebanese have been killed in the past four days.

 

Ms Vainola said she could hear the sound of missiles and aircraft flying over where she was.

 

She said: "No one from the embassy is saying I am going to get evacuated at any minute.

 

"This is not a game, it's not eggs from the sky, it's missiles and they are right over my head. What more can I say?

 

"I would say I feel a little bit threatened. I would feel safer in a Sunderland game with a bunch of Sunderland supporters wearing a Newcastle shirt."

 

She said she could not get to the British Embassy and she was by herself.

 

"The only thing I can do is sit and wait and hope that I get out alive," she said.

 

"I was going to make a run for it yesterday and get a taxi to Syria. The problem is I am a single woman, on my own. I mean I could be murdered or captured by terrorists or anything like that."

 

Up to 20,000 British and UK-Lebanese citizens in Lebanon have been told to "keep a low profile" amid the crisis in the Middle East.

 

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "The advice we're giving people at the moment is to stay put in your homes; to keep an eye on the media - that is the radio, the television and of course the newspapers.

 

"If we need to get any messages out, we will be putting them out on English language radio here, pass them to the newspapers and to the local television."

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk

Swiss nationals evacuated from Lebanon

 

The foreign ministry says around 50 Swiss nationals have been evacuated from Lebanon, as the violence in the Middle East continues to escalate.

 

On Saturday Israel resumed strikes against targets in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, where numerous civilians are reported to have been killed.

 

 

The conflict has prompted several countries, including Switzerland, to start evacuating their nationals from Lebanon.

 

"Fifty-four Swiss and 30 German nationals left Beirut late on Friday afternoon in buses arranged by the Swiss embassy in Lebanon in collaboration with the German embassy," confirmed Jean-Philippe Jeannerat, spokesman for the Swiss foreign ministry.

 

"The passengers arrived safe and sound in [the Syrian capital] Damascus at 5am after a long and roundabout journey," he added.

 

Jeannerat pointed out that the convoy had been forced to avoid the main Beirut-Damascus highway because of artillery and air strikes. The evacuees are now awaiting repatriation or preparing to head to other destinations.

 

Officials say there are 838 Swiss nationals living in Lebanon, of which 713 hold dual nationality. But the foreign ministry told Le Matin newspaper there could also be "several hundred" Swiss tourists who had travelled independently to Lebanon.

 

The Swiss government has advised those still in the country to contact the Beirut embassy, which has four staff, and to stay away from potential trouble spots.

 

Other European countries, including France and Italy, have also begun evacuating nationals from Lebanon. With Beirut airport closed following Israeli air strikes and ports blockaded, the only way out of the country is by road.

 

 

Artillery strikes

 

The Israeli army said on Saturday it had struck about 150 targets in Lebanon so far, fewer than a dozen of them linked directly to Hezbollah. Most have hit civilian installations.

 

Hezbollah fired more than two dozen rockets at towns in northern Israel, slightly wounding several people.

 

At least 88 people have died in Lebanon, most of them civilians, in the four-day Israeli offensive, sparked by Hezbollah's capture of two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid.

 

On the Israeli side, at least 15 have been killed – four civilians and 11 soldiers. Four Israeli sailors are also believed to have died after a Hezbollah missile struck their warship off the Lebanese coast on Friday.

 

Arab foreign ministers held an emergency meeting in Cairo on Saturday to discuss ways to end Israeli attacks on Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.

 

President Bush, in Moscow for a meeting of G8 leaders, blamed Hezbollah for the violence and called on Syria to exert its influence to persuade the Lebanese Shi'ite group to stop attacks on Israel.

 

http://www.swissinfo.org

European citizens to be evacuated from Lebanon

 

PARIS, France (AP) -- European nations lined up ferries, buses and airplanes to evacuate thousands of their citizens from Lebanon, increasingly under siege from Israeli attacks.

 

France, which has historic ties to Lebanon and 17,000 citizens residing there, announced plans Saturday to ferry French nationals to Cyprus where Air France flights would be waiting to bring them to Paris.

 

The voluntary evacuations will begin Sunday. In addition to French residents, up to 6,000 other French citizens were estimated to be in Lebanon visiting.

 

"We want to take all the necessary measures for the security of our citizens," Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said at the end of a crisis meeting Saturday morning. The government would evaluate the situation in Lebanon "hour by hour" and adapt measures if needed, he said. He did not raise the possibility of mandatory evacuations.

 

So far, no country is known to have ordered all of its citizens out of Lebanon.

 

A convoy of 410 Italians and others, mainly from the EU, packed up and fled on Saturday, traveling by land to Latakia, Syria. They were boarding military flights to Rome, some going first to Cyprus, the head of the Italian Foreign Ministry's crisis unit, Elisabetta Belloni, said. More than 1,000 Italians remain in Lebanon.

 

Israeli warplanes struck Lebanon's transport routes and infrastructure for a fourth day on Saturday in response to the capture Wednesday of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah guerrillas who crossed the Israeli-Lebanese border.

 

Two Romanian lawmakers and their families also were evacuated to Syria on Saturday, cutting short a vacation. Nicolae Bara told private news television Realitatea TV that the group of 13 people were then going on to Turkey.

 

Another 160 Romanians requested to leave Lebanon, Romanian Ambassador Aurel Calin told Realitatea and the embassy in Beirut was looking for bus transport to Syria.

 

Germany, meanwhile, urged an estimated 1,100 German citizens in Lebanon to stay put but avoid unnecessary travel and stay away from potential Israeli targets such as airports and harbors.

 

Diplomats in Berlin were monitoring the situation closely, preparing for all possible scenarios, the Foreign Ministry said without elaborating.

 

European Union countries' embassies in Lebanon were reported to be in close contact.

 

Cyprus said Friday that it was prepared to help the EU with an evacuation plan.

 

"They have asked us for the facilities (ports and airports) in case this mission is conducted and it will concern all European citizens," Foreign Ministry official Sotos Zackheos said. "The government of Cyprus has given its consent."

 

Zackheos said France was looking at ways to coordinate EU efforts. No decision was known to have been reached.

 

The Greek government has said it had chartered an Olympic Airways plane and was ready to fly it to Jordan should any Greek or EU citizens ask to return home. The plane could leave on three hours' notice, the Greek Foreign Ministry said.

 

As early as Thursday, a group of 115 Cypriots and other foreign nationals, were bussed to Syria then evacuated to Cyprus.

 

The evacuees -- 102 Cypriots, six Britons, four French, two Czechs and one American -- made the journey out.

 

http://www.cnn.com

U.S. Embassy works on Lebanon evacuation

BEIRUT (AP) — The United States is working on a plan to evacuate American citizens from Lebanon to the neighboring island of Cyprus, the U.S. Embassy said Saturday.

"We are looking at how we might transport Americans to Cyprus. Once in Cyprus, Americans can then board commercial aircraft for onward travel," an embassy statement said.

 

The State Department said Friday that Americans in Lebanon should consider leaving when it is safe to do so, and officials made contingency plans for the evacuation of people who cannot leave on their own.

 

"Our best advice is for people to assess their security situation," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Friday. "Right now ... from the U.S. government perspective, there aren't any reliable ways to get out by air, land or sea."

 

Israeli airstrikes targeting runways have closed down Beirut international airport. Israel has also imposed a naval blockade on the country and has made road travel dangerous by targeting the main highway between Lebanon and neighboring Syria.

 

Hezbollah has fired dozens of rockets and mortars into northern Israel in response.

 

The U.S. estimates 25,000 Americans live or work in Lebanon, but U.S. officials assume that far fewer would choose to leave if they could.

 

Saturday's embassy statement said the State Department was continuing to work "around the clock" with the Defense Department on a plan to help American citizens leave Lebanon safely.

 

A statement posted on the embassy's website on Friday urged Americans in Lebanon to be extremely vigilant and avoid non-essential travel because of the escalating violence in the conflict with Israel.

 

Other countries were also working on similar plans. The French foreign minister said Saturday his government would use a ferry to evacuate its citizens from Lebanon starting on Sunday. Philippe Douste-Blazy said the ferry would transport to Cyprus any of the thousands of French who want to leave Lebanon. They would then be flown to Paris by special Air France flights.

 

Some 17,000 French citizens reside in Lebanon and 4,000 to 6,000 others are visiting, he said.

 

http://www.usatoday.com

ROUNDUP: European Countries Evacuating Their Citizens From Lebanon

 

European countries were evacuating their citizens from Lebanon Saturday in view of the ongoing military Israeli offensive and blockade on the country. Italy and Spain had already acted to move their nationals to safety, while Britain, France and Nordic states were preparing similar operations.

 

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said buses and cars were being organized to drive people to the Syrian capital Damascus and Jordan's capital Amman.

 

The foreign minister said an evacuation centre was being set up on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus and a ferry had been chartered to transport 800 to 1,000 French citizens there on Sunday.

 

Two air force transport planes, three helicopters, a frigate and a ship capable of carrying 1,000 passengers were being readied to evacuate foreigners, Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said.

 

Around 20,000 French nationals, including tourists and business travellers are estimated to be in Lebanon, that was briefly ruled by French mandate in the aftermath of World War 1.

 

The Italian embassy in Beirut had helped 420 foreigners, including 300 Italians, to evacuate from Beirut by bus to safer areas in northern Lebanon, Italian state television reported.

 

Around 1,300 Italians live in Lebanon, most of whom "have been living in the country for years and want to remain there," the embassy said. The evacuees were mostly business people, tourists and students.

 

Authorities in Spain confirmed they had bussed about 120 Spanish citizens out of Lebanon to Damascus, from where they left for Madrid in a military plane that was expected to arrive later in the day.

 

An additional 650 Spaniards living in Lebanon had chosen to remain there.

 

The Norwegian government said it would try to evacuate people by bus to Damascus on Sunday, while the Swedish foreign ministry was looking to a sea route by ferry to Cyprus. There are several thousand people from Nordic countries in Lebanon.

 

Switzerland and Germany have jointly organized the departure of their citizens for Damascus. Fifty-four Swiss citizens and 30 German nationals had left Beirut aboard a bus Friday night and had arrived Saturday in Damascus, a spokesman for the foreign ministry in Berne said. Around 838 Swiss nationals reside presently in Lebanon.

 

Germany also advised its citizens not to travel to Lebanon and told the 1,100 Germans who live there to contact the German embassy, if they needed assistance.

 

The foreign ministry in Berlin was unable to confirm media reports that three members of a German-Lebanese family were killed when an Israeli missile hit a house in the village of Shoher.

 

Britain also called on its estimated 20,000 citizens in Lebanon to be prepared to flee the country, the BBC reported.

 

The British Foreign Office was urging its citizens to report to the British embassy in Beirut in preparation for an eventual evacuation and also urged them to remain inconspicuous.

 

http://www.playfuls.com

they say there's also about 25,000 Americans trapped there too...

from mooching through Google news, it sounds like the US and most european countries are actively doing what they can to get their citizens out. Britain gets very little mention, apart from telling the people trapped there to remain inconspicuous!

I heard this on the Radio last night it all sounds really bad... why dont someone ask them to stop...

oh edit

I heard this on the Radio last night it all sounds really bad... why dont someone ask them to stop...

 

 

They have asked israel to stop. But they shouldnt, they were attacked first, israel didnt go out looking for trouble, terrorist bombed and kidnapped their soldiers, and now lebanon is facing the consequences for this.

Isreal (their criminal Government, not their people), along with the US support, have seized upon a chance here to force a backlash from Iran.....they have blown it WAY, WAY, WAY out of proportion. And It's so obvious.

Isreal (their criminal Government' date=' not their people), along with the US support, have seized upon a chance here to force a backlash from Iran.....they have blown it WAY, WAY, WAY out of proportion. And It's so obvious.[/quote']

 

see whats sad is, you side with the terrorist and one of the worst goverments since hitler(iran) israel was ATTACKED FIRST and responded, nothing evil or wrong about that. they are fighting a evil racist goverment bent of another holocuast. but then again europe doesnt seem to mind those types of things against the jews. it never has.

 

whats going on now, is a proxy war. iran's using terrorist to do what it wants and we are using israel to do what we want. but i have a feeling this will turn into a full out war, and possibly ww3.

see whats sad is, you side with the terrorist and one of the worst goverments since hitler(iran) israel was ATTACKED FIRST and responded, nothing evil or wrong about that. they are fighting a evil racist goverment bent of another holocuast. but then again europe doesnt seem to mind those types of things against the jews. it never has.

 

whats going on now, is a proxy war. iran's using terrorist to do what it wants and we are using israel to do what we want. but i have a feeling this will turn into a full out war, and possibly ww3.

 

 

No, no...I'm not siding with Iran.....did I say that? no, I didn't.

Iran aren't controlled by a perfect regime by a long way and I don't agree with most of the things they do.

 

Isreal have gone too far with this one and they will get away with it.

No, no...I'm not siding with Iran.....did I say that? no, I didn't.

Iran aren't controlled by a perfect regime by a long way and I don't agree with most of the things they do.

 

Isreal have gone too far with this one and they will get away with it.

 

The ones who have gone to far is the terrorist and their bosses(iran)

yeah! coz the way to deal with terrorists is to bomb the living daylights out of innocent civilians. that'll stop them and make them give in! it wouldn't be giving the terrorists exactly what they want, a reason to carry on the violence?

 

chrissakes! the way to settle this isn't with violence, and a playground style he said/she said argument. both parties need to be dragged kicking and screaming back to the negotiation table. and if neccessary, the rest of the world needs to gang together and start imposing sanctions on both sides until they sort themselves out.